


I Loathe You Too (Beta Lumity)

by iris_dreams



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: (AOAW never happened because Luz stayed home lol), (But besides that it's mostly canon compliant for season 1), Angst, Beta Lumity, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lumity, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iris_dreams/pseuds/iris_dreams
Summary: Described as “ASKSHKAHDKAKDJS” by fans and “Wow, I don’t actually hate this” by the author, I Loathe You Too is a fast paced slowburn with a healthy serving of the character-focused storytelling and soul crushing pain that made the original material cherished by fans. It focuses on Luz, now four years older, and her return to The Boiling Isles. It dives into the intricacies of mental health and relationships under the constant stress of violence in an unforgiving world, coupled with a veneer of sharp comedy and, of course, the proverbial gay shit.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 67
Kudos: 210





	1. Return to Bonesborough Pt. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm Iris, the author, and welcome to...this, I guess. For some context, this is kind of a personal work to me. It's the story I needed to hear, so I decided to go ahead and write it. I hope it brings any small source of comfort or companionship to anyone who reads it. The rest of this is just housekeeping stuff, if you want to skip it then TW are at the end.
> 
> First, I have a few playlists on Spotify. The links are below:
> 
> The official one, with songs that make an in-universe appearance or are connected to the plot:  
> [I Loathe You Too Official Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48Iq8oFsO8KV73wvZtXp0I?si=DpZswR5SRz6Q-tTlWeIo7w)
> 
> And The Cut List, which is basically just bangers I didn't end up adding to the official one because I couldn't find a place for them. However, there's always a chance they might make it up the the Official Playlist, and vice versa.  
> [The Cut List](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/16EGu6gUYoGuIjLVIb4HKY?si=p9JjkrNTR3aRrjwhOC-rBA)
> 
> Feel free to make art, just give credit.
> 
> My instagram is @iris__dreams 
> 
> On the subject of trigger warnings: Stuff such as cursing, toxic relationships, relatively light themes of suicide & depression, and drug use/alcohol consumption/addiction, will not be tagged with trigger warnings, therefore reader digression is advised. If there is an notably darker chapter that depicts undeniably disturbing subject material that isn’t mentioned above (heavy themes of suicide, for instance) I will add a trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter. As a side note, there will not be any smut or rape/non-con. At all.
> 
> Now I know this fic sounds dark as hell but I assure you it’s not all doom and gloom. It's mainly me dealing with my thoughts and feelings through storytelling. Anyways, on with the show

The Boiling Isles was a place I would never forget. It’s been around four years since I left (or at least I think. Time flies you know?) and I never forgot that short, sweet, demon infested summer. It taught me that I didn’t need to hide my weirdness, that I could express myself how I wanted, because at the end of the day, your friends are going to be just as weird as you are. I came back to the human world filled with optimism. I thought that I was gonna turn my life around and cruise through the rest of highschool and finally reach a point I was content with my life.  
  
Yeah, that shit didn't happen. School, believe it or not, was complete shit. My grades stayed floating just above failing until I graduated, and my social life deteriorated even faster than I had expected. It didn’t matter. I was planning to fuck off back to the Boiling Isles and vibe until I inevitably died in a blaze of magic-fueled glory at the first opportunity. 

That also didn’t go according to plan. I wanted to leave the exact minute school let out. However, due to some delays on the Boiling Isles side, that fell through. Eda said she would send me some updates on whatever was going on back in her world. Spring ended with no word from her. I even stopped getting letters from Willow and Gus, which Eda had been delivering via Owlbert on his garbage runs.

Summer brought record high temperatures for the fourth year in a row, and still no updates from Eda. Soon the leaves began to fall, the mosquitoes disappeared, and one day I finally found a letter wedged under my windowsill. I wiggled it out, tore it open, and read it with the fascination of a loner who had been teased with the possibility of kinship. Then I had to read it again, because it didn’t register the first time.

“MOM!” I yelled, ”Eda said I can come back!”

“ _Santa_ _mierda_ ”, muttered my mom from the hallway. “Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked.

I was too busy to answer. I grabbed as many clothes as I could carry from my closet, shoved them into my suitcase, and tried to zip it up. They wouldn’t fit. I gave up and sat on the lid, barely managing to close it. Panting, I looked around my room. It was simple, with a dresser near the window and a small bed in the center, covered with messy sheets and my stuffed otter. I crossed the room to pick it up. Should I take it with me? There was a knock on my door.

“ _Mija_ , what day did Eda say to get there?” my mom called.

I yelled back, ”Uhh...she said ten o’clock!”

My mother mumbled something I couldn't hear.

_Shit, where did I put them?_ I searched around my room, opening doors and checking under my bed. I pulled open a drawer and saw the letters sitting in a neat stack. To be honest, they were the only thing in my room that was actually neat. I flipped through them, catching snippets of writing along the way. Stuff like Willow getting a greenhouse, weird things King did, and Gus getting accepted into some university. I ended up landing on one from Amity. Unlike everyone else, she only sent two. The first was written a week after I left, and the second one, the one I was holding, was from under a year ago. The letter was mostly her reminiscing about Grom. The tone seemed strangely nostalgic, of all things. I couldn’t believe she loved Grom that much. It was an odd topic to be sure, but Amity seemed a little stressed.

" _MIJA_! You are going to be late!" my mom yelled from behind the door. I looked at the clock. It read 9:39.

"Oh I gotta go!" I exclaimed. I grabbed my backpack, which had been packed since late March, and heaved my overstuffed suitcase off the floor. I crashed through the hallway, nearly hitting my mom. I ran to the front door.

"Wait!" I heard my mom call from the hallway. She pulled me into a hug, and said "Be careful, and remember to visit, ok?"

"I will, _mami_ ," I promised. I pushed open the door and broke into a sprint. I ran at full speed to the bus stop. When I finally got there, I stood panting, waiting for Owlbert to show up. _Man_ , I thought, _I should get a watch_. I waited, breathing in the crisp fall air and tried to catch my breath. I thought back to when I first came here, expecting to go to camp. Instead, I ended up with a new family and, for once, friends who actually liked me. So much had changed since then. Some of it was good, to be fair, but I would never want to repeat any of it. I heard a soft “hoot” behind me.

"Owlbert!" I turned to see the little wooden owl. "Man I've missed you. How's everything going? Are we leaving now? Do you think I packed too much stuff?"

There was no way I packed too much. If anything, I packed too little. I wasn't planning on coming back to the human world, except to visit my mom. I looked up to see Owlbert hopping away.

"Hey! Wait up!" I yelled. Owlbert turned around, hooted at me, and then started flying.

" _Pájaro tonto_ ," I gasped, as I lugged my suitcase into the woods. I ran through the trees, trying to keep up with the palisman. Soon, the decrepit house came into view. The doorway was glowing with the magic from Eda's portal, spilling light onto the forest floor. Owlbert hooted at me once again, and then flew through. I ran up the steps to the door. Then a sudden wave of...something overcame me. I turned around, taking in the green trees, blue sky, and a distinct lack of flying monsters. I'm gonna miss this place, I thought. I turned to face the portal, took a deep breath, and stepped into the golden glow.

I popped out in the back of Eda's shop. Everything seemed the same as when I left, down to the familiar piles of junk stacked on the wall. Behind the doorway, I could hear the sounds of Eda ripping off a customer. I followed her voice, dodging around the merchandise, and burst through the tent flap. The sunlight blinded me. When my eyes finally adjusted, I discovered that Eda’s unfortunate customers were the Blight twins. Edric looked up, surprised. He seemed to be holding on to a broken rubik's cube. Emira was inspecting a shattered mirror, lost deep in thought. I turned and found my old mentor, and to an extent, my second mother, Eda.

"Oh wow kid, I didn't realize you would be here this early,” she said.

"You said ten o'clock, right?" I asked.

"Yes, but I was expecting you’d arrive half an hour late,” the witch answered. She smiled warmly and brought me into a close hug. She smelled like homely garbage and something slightly medicinal.

“Wait was no one going to tell me Luz was back?" I heard Edric say.

"Well, dumbass, maybe if you paid attention you would know these things," Emira said nonchalantly. I studied the twins. They didn't seem to have changed much over the last few years. Edric's hair was slightly longer and he had a light beard. On top of that, both of them got a few piercings, ranging from an eyebrow stud on Edric to a ring through Emira's lip

"Wait," I asked,"How did you know I was coming back?"

Emira faltered.

"I, uh, heard it..." she muttered.

"Hah, no you didn't", said Edric, "Emira's a liar, L-A-I-R!"

"That's not how you spell liar, idiot."

I missed them. Thank god they still had the same fights they used to. The twins reminded me of something.

"Oh, what about Amity? Is she here?" I asked. Both of the twins froze. They glanced at each other, holding an unsaid argument with their eyes. Finally, Emira gave in.

"We...we should talk about Amity," she said.


	2. Return to Bonesborough Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy it’s Saturday already. Anyways here's Chapter 2. Ao3 formatting is weird, please ignore the giant spacing, and remember to enjoy :)
> 
> Oh I also got a new computer and it sounds like a jet engine when it boots up lmao

A bolt of worry shot through me. "Is she ok? Wait did she DIE?" 

"No, sweetie, she didn't die," Emira said.

"She more like...let herself go. After you left, of course,” Edric added.

"Let herself go? What is that even supposed to mean!?" I yelled. Amity, always the top student, best of her class, couldn't have let herself just...go? _What did that even mean?_

"It's more like she....found herself,” Emira said, shooting a dirty look at Edric,"She's still ok, probably better than she ever has been, but she’s not exactly top student anymore, you know?"

"I mean, personally, I would change a lot too if I was in her position”, Edric forced a laugh. His choice of words caught my attention.

"What do you mean by ‘her position’?" I asked. Edric faltered and stayed silent for a moment.

"Well,” he said cautiously,"It's been pretty hectic over the last few years. I think you should just ask her yourself. I'll give you my scroll number in case you want to talk, but it's probably better if you meet her face-to-face."

"Yeah I'll do that..." I muttered. Why were the twins being so awkward about this? Surely she couldn’t have changed that much. Wait, was Edric sweating? In this weather? Emira was also picking at her nails, eyes downcast 

"Hey, uh, Luz, you there?" I heard Emira ask.

"Oh I'm fine,” I answered,”Just kind of weirded out?"

"Ok then, we'll see you around. Oh and also, feel free to stop by our house any time. How about we send the directions once you get your scroll set up?"

I nodded blankly, and waved goodbye as they left. They made their way down the road, heads bowed in conversation.

"Well shit, kiddo, that was weird" I heard Eda say behind me,"Why don't we pack up early? I bet King wants to spend some time with you."

I agreed. I itched to go over to Amity's, but I didn't even know where she fucking lived. Also the twins seemed too eager to get away from me. Great. I come back and scare away the first people I meet. I took a deep breath, feeling my lungs fill with air. _It's ok_ , I told myself, _everyone's weird here. And from the looks of it, you're probably no weirder than Amity, so you two can be weird together._ I wouldn't mind that. _See? We could just lock ourselves in the library away from society and talk about Azura books and...stuff. It was going to be fine._

"Hey kid, you gonna help me pack up or what?"

"Yeah,” I mumbled.

The trip back to the Owl House seemed to fly by. I mumbled a soft “hello” to Hooty on my way past, not caring if he was disappointed that I didn’t stop to chat. I was tired. It was the first time I've been back to the Owl House since I left. It hadn’t changed much. There were still the familiar dust balls in the corners, the human junk lining the walls, and the squishy couch that I sank into. 

“Hey, Eda, where’s King?” I asked. Eda popped out from the kitchen.

“Turns out the little rascal fell asleep,” she said. She stared at me spreading over the couch and frowned. I happened to be taking up as much space as I could to get comfortable.

"Jeez, I think you better go to bed too," Eda grinned. I sighed in agreement. I dragged my suitcase up the stairs and busted into my old room. It was still a mess. Good. I threw down my sleeping bag, collapsed on top of it, and fell asleep instantly.

Presumably the next day, I opened my bleary eyes to sunlight streaming through the grime on my window. The sweet bliss of sleep called to me. I groaned loud enough to shake some dust from the ceiling. I rolled over onto the floor and let my face rest on the cool wooden panels. It felt way too early to be waking up. There was no way I was going back to sleep. Might as well get ready. I made it to my suitcase, which was leaning in the corner with my backpack, and grabbed a t-shirt and jeans from the mess inside it. As I made my way downstairs, the smell of Eda's cooking found its way into my nose. It screamed at me to go back to the safe haven of my room and sleep until tomorrow.

I found myself at the doorway of the kitchen, eyes crusty, and mouth clammy. The Owl Lady heard my agonized groan.

"Hey kid, thought you'd wake up earlier,” she said, "You're usually up making pancakes or waffles or something."

"Yeah,” I groaned,"Kinda don't feel like doing that right now. Hell, I don't even feel like waking up." I crash landed in one of the chairs. My head made a soft _thud_ as it hit the table.

Eda eyed me wearily. "Well shit, kiddo, it's nine o'clock, it can't be that bad."

Yeah, it was that bad. Mornings in the Boiling Isles weren’t as good as I remembered. That might have been the misplaced optimism I had as a kid. To be fair, I haven't even been here for a full day, but my sleeping bag still called to me. Eda popped open a small vial and poured it into her drink.

“Wow, getting hammered this early in the morning?” I said.

“Huh?” Eda asked,”You mean this?” She held up the vial.

“Yeah? Isn’t that alcohol or something?”

Eda laughed. “No, silly, it’s my medicine. It’s more potent than the old stuff. I just pour a vial of it into my morning apple blood and boom, no curse. You should ask Willow, she’s the one who makes it all happen.”

I looked up. “Willow makes medicine now?”

“Nah,” Eda said, ”She just happens to grow it’s main ingredient.”

My head came down again. Maybe I should visit Willow today. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. She said she got a greenhouse, and there’s probably a bunch of interesting shit in there. To be honest, I didn’t really think through what I was going to actually do. At best I could hang out with Eda and Willow. At worst I could work at some dead-end job in Bonesborough. I could probably take over that gel dude's hot dog stand. My stomach growled in agreement.

“What’s for breakfast?” I asked.

"Well, here's something you might enjoy.” Eda said. She crossed over and plunked a mug full of crimson liquid in front of me.

"Is that...apple blood?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh yeah, it's apple blood, but not the watered down stuff they give you at school. You should be old enough to have the good stuff," Eda grinned. I took the cup and swirled it around a bit. It had a sweet, metallic smell like, well, apple juice and blood. I took a sip and instantly regretted it. It tasted like the metallicness of blood mixed with rotten apples cranked to the max. I choked it down before breaking into a coughing fit.

"What the FUCK,” I coughed, "Is THIS?" 

Eda just stood there and cackled, the bitch.

"I bet you feel wide awake now, huh?"

" _Anhelo la dulce liberación de la muerte_ ," I coughed some more,”Well, I'm fucking awake, what in the fucking shit do you want?"

"Jeez, watch your language," Eda chuckled. She removed my mug from the table and dropped it in the sink. "You can stay here if you want, maybe set up your scroll. Speaking of which, here it is." Eda produced a rolled up scroll using a spell circle, then threw it at me. It smacked my nose and opened in my lap.

"Uh, it's just glowing,” I said, inspecting the scroll in my hands.

"Yeah, you're supposed to- oh you can't do magic."

"Thank you, captain obvious”

"In that case, hand it over here."

I passed the scroll to Eda, who drew some more spell circles and handed it back. After touching it, a keypad popped up on the screen. I fished the piece of parchment Edric gave me earlier out of my pocket, and stared at it for a second.

"Hey Eda-"

"Just shove it into the screen."

"Oh ok, thanks," I mumbled. The paper melted into the screen, and Edric Blight’s name appeared, followed by Emira’s. I opened a new text and started typing

_hey its luz, can you send me directions to your place?_

"So what do I do with this?" I asked, waving the scroll.

"Well you can text people on it," Eda replied, completely deadpan. That remark got her another groan and a few choice words. 

“I should probably get your number," I said. Eda looked at me, flabbergasted.

"Kid, I don't have a scroll,” she laughed, "If I need you I'll just send Owlbert."

“Oh, ok,” I said. Eda sat down across from me and took a sip out of her mug.

“So whatcha gonna do today?”

“I don’t know. I might go on a walk or something later.”

“Ah, so you’re going to see Amity.”

I shot up. “What!” I exclaimed,”No!” 

“Mhm. Sure. I bet you two have a lot to catch up on.”

I sighed. “Not really,” I said,”I mean you’d think she would’ve sent me more letters if she wanted to talk, right?”

Eda smiled behind her mug. “Well why don’t you ask her?”

“That, Eda, is the worst idea you’ve ever given me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why?” she asked.

“Well like I just can’t walk up to her and...talk.”

Eda put her mug down and laughed. “Luz, I’ve seen you do exactly that dozens of times. And that was to strangers, too! Amity’s not as bad as you think. She had a soft spot for you, you know.”

I let out a short laugh. “She was my friend _four years ago_. I’d hardly call that a soft spot.”

“You know what? I need to take King to the vet today. How about you go take a walk.”

“King needs to go to the vet?”

“He does now,” Eda replied, ”So get out.”

“Why can’t I stay here?”

“Because I said so. Now go get dressed and go outside for a while. It’ll do you some good.”

After discretely flipping her off, I ran back to my room to grab my jacket. It was made of faded green canvas, and still smelled like the flea market I found it in. It was weird. Somewhere between a trenchcoat and a bomber jacket, no one really knew what to make of it. It also had monstrously large pockets, which is what sold me on it. I also grabbed my beanie because my hair was a mess and it helped cover that up. I thundered downstairs and blew past the front door. 

“Hey Luz!” Hooty nearly screamed behind me. “You look like you got run over by a bear, but if bears had wheels and also didn’t eat you first, hoot hoot!” The demon and I stared at each other for a silent eternity. 

“Well you look like the end of a rectal thermometer,” I finally countered. 

“What’s a rectal thermometer?!” the ungodly beast asked.

“You know what, nevermind,” I laughed. “I’m going on a walk for a little, see you later.” 

“Ok, hoot hoot!”

My scroll buzzed with a text from Edric. It was directions to his place. It seemed to be on the edge of Bonesborough, on the south (kneeward?) side of the city. "Yeah I'll deal with that later," I said to myself, and set out towards the woods.

The trees welcomed me like an old friend. I strolled down the path and enjoyed the scenery. There wasn’t a chance to slow down like this back home. There was always school or Mom or something else stressing me out. Here didn't have homework or college admissions or jobs. Shit, I'm not even sure the Boiling Isles had a government. Sure, there was Emperor Belos, but he obviously didn't have that much control over the place. I walked among the trees, occasionally scaring away small woodland creatures with enormous fangs. The sky was a beautiful deep shade of blue that reminded me of the summer days back at home that I spent inside. The foliage of the trees was a vibrant orange, the color of sunsets, clay, and maybe a carrot all shoved in a blender. I let out a contented sigh. Life is shit sometimes, to be honest. There’s no exact reason why; it just drags on. Times like this though, when it's just me in the middle of fuck ass nowhere, these times are what make it worth it. Comfortable silence, I guess. And nature.

There was no need to pay attention to where I was going. After about an hour or so, I noticed a skeletal hand holding up a shack in the distance. It was one of my favorite buildings in Bonesborough, mostly due to how inconceivably stupid it was. I figured I might as well visit the city, and by extension, Amity. I turned towards town, and the landscape slowly turned from bushes and trees to stone roads and buildings. Carts, carriages, and various lovecraftian horrors passed by me. I was surrounded by houses with daubed walls and gabled roofs. Smells of cooking meat, gunpowder, and rotting flesh mixed together into a cocktail of smells that assaulted my senses. I walked down the avenue, hopefully heading south. I cut through stalls, alleys, and the occasional graveyard. 

All too soon, the house stood before me. It didn’t look much different from the other houses that lined the street. It’s first floor was made of stone, while the upper story was made with the white, claylike material the other houses had. My heart felt too present in my chest, rising higher than it should. _The New Amity couldn’t be that bad,_ I told myself. My body disagreed. My legs wanted to run and my eyes wanted to look away, but some small part of me decided to stay. I knocked on the door. A moment passed. In the corner of my eyes, carts passed down the road. Time to leave. There was still time. The door opened.

Oh shit. She did change. The first thing that popped out to me was the hair. It was still a minty green, but longer and more wild and...poofy. She wore a hot pink dress with leggings and complementary pink flats. All of her jewelry was black; black earrings, black bracelet, black necklace, and whatever you call an eyebrow piercing. My eyes ended up focusing on the small patch of brown hair on her hairline. It was only a few inches across, maybe an inch long at least. She must have re-dyed her hair recently.

"Oh...it's you,” Amity said coldly.

"He-Hey Amity,” I struggled back. Her hair looked so soft...

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Umm well I'm back in the Boiling Isles...permanently. I just thought I should...you know, say hi and stuff?"

Amity frowned. She held a less-than-neutral expression.

"Ok. That's great,” she said flatly. I was hoping for a bit more excitement. Maybe even a smile.

"So um...how are you doing?" I smiled weakly

"Good."

"The weather's nice"

"Sure is."

"You, uh, do anything interesting recently?"

Her lips turned into a thin frown.

"No."

"Well ok,” I muttered, "It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too. Now get out of my way, I need to see Willow.”

I perked up.

“I haven’t visited Willow yet!” I exclaimed.

"Ok? And?" she asked. 

"Well…"I said, "Why don't you show me her place?"

Amity groaned. 

"Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a drawing pad for Christmas so at some point I'll start posting art. Keep in mind I not only have dysgraphia but also no idea how to draw.  
> Happy Holidays, everyone!


	3. Old Friends, New Houses, and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the last suckerpunch 2020 gave me was the official Duolingo account posting a picture of Hooty and Duo on New Year’s Eve

Luz and I walked down the path through the woods. She wasn’t what I expected. Her hair was longer, for one, and she was taller. A lot taller. I had to look up at her now, which was a weird feeling.

“So Edric said you let yourself go,” Luz said, ”What’s the deal with that?”

“What?” I replied. Her voice sounded different too. Deeper, maybe. It had this lazy cadence, like a slow-moving river carrying me downstream.

“I mean like...did you actually let yourself go?”

“What does that even mean?” I said. Her voice was definitely huskier, but still mellow at the same time. Luz chuckled and looked over at me.

“That’s what I said. My first thought was that you dropped out of school or something.”

“I nearly did, actually.” That wasn’t exactly the best time in my life. Hearing no response from Luz, I glanced over. Her eyes were wide, mouth agape.

“What!? How do you nearly fail highschool?” she laughed.

“No, dumbass, I just got tired of it.” That was a lie. I actually loved school. There was just other stuff I had to deal with.

“Wow, that’s great. So what inspired the wardrobe change? Last time I checked you never wore dresses unless you had too.”

“My old stuff got destroyed,” I said nonchalantly, ”In a fire.”

“Whoa, did you burn your house down or something?” Luz said sarcastically. Her voice made my stomach drop by about a foot. I felt it settle near my bladder.

“Yeah, actually,” I managed.

Her eyes widened.

“Wait...you actually burned down your house?”

“Yeah,” I smiled ruefully, ”Why do you think me and the twins live in that shack?”  
Luz was silent, deep in thought. Did she always bite her lip when she was thinking? Or was that new?

“Ok wait,” she said, ”You’re telling me you burned down Blight Manor?”

“Yes.”

“Like the whole ass thing?”

“Mhm.”

“And now you live with your siblings in a house in Bonesborough,” she said, “Because you have no mansion?”

“Yep.”

“What about your parents?”

“They slept through it.”

That’s the lie I told myself, anyway.

Luz stayed quiet for a while. Which was strange, because when I knew her, or at least knew the old Luz, she never shut up.

Finally, Luz sighed.

“They were that bad, huh?”

“Yeah…” I said.

Luz went quiet again. I decided I hated when she did that. The old Luz always had something to say. It was usually stupid, but somehow endearing. Hell, sometimes I even understood what she was talking about. Sometimes it was nice just to listen to her go on and on about stupid, meaningless details about the human world. I just wanted that again. We kept walking, maybe for another few minutes, before Hexside came into view.

“Oh shit it’s our school,” Luz observed, “Glad to see it’s still standing.”

“It’s not really our school anymore,” I said. Luz raised a questioning eyebrow.

“We graduated,” I supplied. She mouthed a silent _oh_. “You missed it.”

Luz smiled sadly. “I missed mine too. Or the human one, I guess.”

“Really? Even the dance?”

Luz’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Dance?”

“Yeah, the graduation dance…” I said,“It was a custom, I guess. I didn’t exactly participate.”

“Huh, yeah, we don’t have graduation dances. We do get these funny hats though.”

“You humans are really fuckin’ weird.”

“Well we also don’t have Grom.”

“Oh so you remember Grometheus?”

“No shit I remember Grometheus. That dude was terrifying.”

“Well our graduation dance didn’t have Grom. It was just a normal dance. More like a ball, to be honest.”

Luz smirked. “Oooh a ball. How fancy. Who’d you go with?”

“I didn’t have anyone to go with.”

Luz scoffed. “Sure you didn’t.” She paused for a few seconds, my silence hanging in the air. “Really? Not even Willow?”

“She went with Gus.”

“Yeah you did kind of destroy her memories that one time. Kind of a bitch move on your part.”

“Thanks for reminding me, dipshit.”

“No problem, fuckass.”

“Ok dickface.”

“ _Puta_.”

“...what the fuck is a poo-tah?”

Luz snickered. Then she broke into a laughing fit.

“Your—your fucking face,” she weezed. She started coughing before finally collapsing to the ground, shaking with laughter.

“It’s not that funny…” I struggled.

Luz gasped, ”Yes it is!”

“No it’s not!” I stammered.

Luz continued laughing.

"Come on idiot, we still need to get to Willow’s before noon.” I crossed my arms, trying to retain what dignity I had left. Luz, still chuckling, picked herself up off the ground.

"Man, your face...." 

"Just keep going," I said darkly. It's not funny. Never will be funny. What even is a puta, anyway? It didn’t seem like the language we spoke in the Boiling Isles. Something clicked in the back of my brain.

"Wait, was that Spanish?" I asked her. Luz snorted. She doubled over again, laughing her ass off. "I’m assuming it was Spanish," I said.

"Yeah it was Spanish," Luz choked through her giggles.

I glared at the human. She met my gaze with her warm, chocolatey brown eyes that I just wanted to lose myself in- oh shit I’m staring.

“I despise you, Noceda.”

“Ok _mamacita_ ,” she said, biting her lip in what was definitely not a kind of attractive way.

“I’m not answering to that. Get up.”

“Do you usually blush when you get mad?”

I nearly screamed at her. “If you don’t get up in three seconds I’m going to stomp on your head.”

“Please do.”

I started to draw a spell circle. “You know what, Noceda?” I asked calmly, ”I am about this close to setting your stupid beanie on fire, followed by your head, then the rest of your body until you’re a sad, pathetic pile of ash.”

Luz scrambled up off the ground. "Ok,'' she said, "that's- yeah I understand.” We walked the rest of the way in silence. Luz didn't say a single word.

"Sorry," I finally said.

"For what?” she asked.

"You know...saying I would set you on fire."

Luz looked surprised. "Oh, um ok," she said. She was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is my beanie actually stupid?"

"No," I answered,"I actually kind of like it.

Luz smiled.

* * *

  
  
We arrived at Willow’s with the sun nearly at its peak. The cabin’s log walls were covered in vines. The shingled roof was the color of midsummer leaves, and a greenhouse jutted out from the left wing. The entire building looked like a squat tree growing from the ground. Luz and I walked to the door. It was made of thick oak planks reinforced with steel bolts. A small panel behind metal bars sat at about eye height. I reached up and knocked. The panel slid open, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes  
"Oh, hey Amity. You're late. And Luz, how's it hanging? I haven't seen you in forever."

Before either of us could answer, the window slammed shut. A series of small bangs, taps, and a screech emanated from behind the heavy wood. The door swung open. Behind it stood Willow, with a light smirk playing over her face. She was wearing a sunflower yellow raincoat over a black sweater and jeans. Her glasses glinted in the sunlight.

“Willow!” Luz exclaimed, ”How’s it going?”

Willow flashed a quick smile. “Hey, Luz,” she said as she embraced the human. ”Let’s get inside.”

She led us through the mudroom, past another sturdy door, and into her living room. Directly across from the door, a staircase led up to the second story. An empty stone fireplace lay against the back wall, with a small window to its right. Plants covered almost every surface, in pots, planters, and in some cases, seemingly growing straight out of the wall. Willow gestured at us to sit down. I sank into the couch, letting myself be engulfed into its fluffy leather cushions. To my surprise, Luz sat down next to me, while Willow sat across from us.

“So, Luz, whatcha been up too?” Willow asked. Luz smiled in return.

“Nothing much actually, I’ve barely been back for a day. I’m more interested in what you’ve been doing. I heard about the greenhouse, but I didn’t know it was this...big,” she said, gesturing to the room.

“Yeah,” said Willow, ”I kinda ran into some extra money.” I flashed her a warning glare. “From selling plants and stuff,” she added, “In fact, Eda gets her medicine from here.”

“Oh yeah, she did mention she got new medicine. Hey, uh, by the way, where’s the bathroom?” Luz said.

“Up the stairs, first door on the left,” Willow pointed in its general direction. Luz jumped up and raced to the bathroom. As soon as the door shut, Willow glared at me.

“What the hell, Amity.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I accidentally mentioned I was going to see you and she just came along!”

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Couldn’t you have left her with Ed and Em or something?”

“Fuck no! They would probably blow up the town!”

The witch sighed.

“Look, Matt’s going to be here soon. I don’t want her here when they arrive.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I don’t want her dragged into this. She’s dealt with enough recently.”

“She’s going to find out eventually.”

“I know that, but let’s at least let her relax for as long as possible. She just got back. Give her some time, ok?”

“What’s she going to think when she does find out, and you’ve been hiding it this entire time?”

“She’ll understand. I know she acts like an idiot, but she’s smart.”

“So are we not going to tell her?”

Luz’s voice rang out behind me.

“Tell me what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a strange urge to get into making scale models of WWII Battleships.


	4. Technically Medicine

Without pausing, Willow said, "Nothing."

That was pure bullshit. 

“Yeah, sure, what were you guys actually talking about?” I leaned against the back of the couch.

“ _Nothing_ ,” Willow laughed, ”How about Amity shows you around the greenhouse? I would myself, but I gotta do other stuff right now.” She let out a beaming smile and winked at Amity, who grunted and stood up.

“Come on,” she said. The witch led me to a door behind the couch. She unlocked a heavy padlock attached to the doorknob and swung it open to reveal the interior of the greenhouse. The humidity hit me like a truck, followed by the smell of dirt. The greenhouse’s walls were lined with a variety of different plants, from bushes and shrubs to ferns and grasses. Along the center, a table ran the length of the floor. It was covered with bushes that had long thin leaves and small pink and yellow flowers. I moved along the aisle, looking at the different blossoms and fruits that Willow had grown. She had really outdone herself.

“Watch out for Steve,” Amity warned. 

“Huh?”

“That thing, there,” Amity pointed to the back corner of the greenhouse, where a large orangey-yellow bulb grew on a thick, thorny stem. “We call it Steve.” I took a step towards it.

“It looks like a normal fruit…” I said. Amity rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, let me show you,” she said as she retrieved a bucket from under the main table. She reached in and pulled out a giant dead rat by its tail and threw it at Steve. With a large _SNAP!_ The rodent disappeared into Steve’s...mouth. I wisely took a step back. 

“So that’s Steve, huh?” I squeaked. It turned and looked at me, hungry for more food.

“Yeah, it’s a _Plantus Masticus_ or something. We just call them titan flytraps. That’s a thistlefruit tree, over there is some goblin root, and that’s rosemary…”

While Amity was talking, I studied the plants in the center. Something about them seemed familiar. I plucked off the end of a leaf and rolled it between my fingers. The smell was unmistakable: Eda’s medicine. It made my eyes water, and I sneezed. The room began to spin. I steadied myself on the table, waiting for the walls to come back into focus. Amity stopped talking and glanced over.

“Um, what are you doing?” she asked with an edge in her voice. I was looking at the crushed leaf, its juice staining my fingertips a deep green. I only sniffed part of it, and it made me dizzy. It was totally possible just one plant could cover Eda’s curse, right? Therefore, you wouldn’t need this many plants. One, maybe two, would suffice. That didn’t account for the other dozen bushes on the table.

“Hey, Amity?” I asked.

“What-what is it?” She looked worried.

“Why are there so many of these?”

“I dont know...” Amity said.

“Amity,” I asked calmly, ”How does Willow make her money?”

“Um...selling plants?” she answered, ”I thought she told you that?”

I nodded. “She did. But I doubt anyone is paying enough for rosemary to afford all this,” I gestured to the glass walls around me, ”So that means that this here is her cash crop.”

“Yeah, well...people need medicine?” I cocked my head.

“You think I’m stupid, Amity?”

“No, I mean you just asked the question and-”

“You have healing spells. Eda is the only witch I know who has to use potions, and that’s only because she has a very specific curse. And I doubt many people have her curse.” Amity gulped and looked out the windows. I continued, “So that means this shit ain’t medicine.”

Amity smiled weakly. “I mean it technically-”

“Amity, shut up.” She went silent. “You’re selling drugs,” I continued, “That’s what this whole thing is about, isn’t it?”

Amity sighed. Then she looked out the window again. She let out a small yelp as her eyes widened in alarm. I ran to the window, trying to find what she saw.

A group of people strolled out of the woods. The group comprised three witches and what appeared to be a humanoid goat. I completely pressed my face against the window, trying to get a better look.

“Noceda, get down.”

“What do you mean get down? You still haven’t answ-”

“GET DOWN!” Amity dragged me to the floor. I struggled to stand up, but she pinned me to the floor.

“Look,” she whispered in my ear. I could feel her breath roll across my neck. ”You’re right, congratulations, now you need to get out. When I let go of you, run up the stairs, open the door across from the bathroom, and get out through the window. It should be low enough for you to jump. Do you understand?”

I stared at her in shock. “I-I didn’t actually think-”

“ _Do you understand?_ You need to leave!” She shook me, hard. I nodded blankly. Slowly, she got off and helped me up. I stood, the room spinning around me. I could still feel her breath on my neck. It burned.

“Damn it, Noceda, _go!”_ I ran to the door and threw it open. Willow looked up from her scroll, surprised. 

“They’re here early,” Amity said behind me. Willow cursed and hopped up from the couch.

“Get her out of here,” she ordered.

“Already covered,” Amity said. She pushed me towards the stairs, and I took the hint. I took the stairs two at a time and dashed to the door across from the bathroom. Knocking came from downstairs. I could hear Willow open the front door and start talking. A nasally voice said something in return, and then they moved inside the house. I grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn. It wouldn’t budge. I could hear the same annoying voice commenting on the plants. The door gave way as I slammed against it. I splayed on the floor of what seemed to be a broom closet. Gathering myself, I shut the door behind me, and moved past the shelves of cleaning equipment and magical junk towards the window. It opened with a screech. The ground didn’t seem close enough to drop down. Judging from Amity’s reaction, I needed to get out anyway. I pushed my legs out first, trying to find purchase on the rough logs on the house. Slowly, I turned until I faced the door, and slid over the windowsill. My hands clung to the frame. If someone happened to walk by, they would probably think I was hiding from the spouse of a secret love affair or some shit. 

I dropped and slammed into the ground. The impact traveled up my legs, leaving my ankles and knees aching. I lay on the cool grass, waiting for the air to return to my lungs. _Fuckkkkkkkkkk this hurts._ Gathering any willpower I had left after that fall, I picked myself up. Everything seemed to be in one piece. All of my limbs seemed to be unbroken, and I could stand. Not bad. I turned and walked past the stone exterior of the fireplace and came across the window that looked into the living room. Inside, Willow leaned over the table, arguing with... _HOLY SHIT WAS THAT MATTHOLOMULE!?_

It had to be. No one else looked like they crashed face first into a brick wall as a newborn. He had the same shaggy hair and, of course, fucked up teeth. He was just slightly larger than when I saw him last. He was wearing a smug look that made me want to suckerpunch him. Next to him sat his cronies, who I dubbed Goat Man and Boscha Two. Goat Man had white fur speckled with black dots and one doey red eye. Boscha Two had jet black hair in a pixie cut, but otherwise seemed to be the same species (race?) as the original Boscha. Amity sat next to Willow with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked towards the window and our eyes met. She jerked her head down, trying to get me to leave. Goat Man noticed and turned his head towards the window. I ducked and crawled farther down the house. Standing up into a crouch, I made my way to the corner of the house.

I turned the corner. Standing by the wall was a witch wearing a cowl and tunic. She must have been the fourth person that I saw walking up with Mattholomule. Between us lay an array of gardening supplies. A shovel leaned against the wall, along with bags of mulch and flower pots. I crept towards the shovel, careful to not knock over any of the junk strewn on the ground. My hand wrapped around the rough wooden handle. It felt like lead in my hands. I hefted it up as the witch began to turn. I saw shoulder-length brown hair and freckles. I heard screaming as the shovel came down. Its blade connected with her skull with a dull ring. The witch collapsed like a doll without its strings, laying in a sad pile on the ground. I stood, staring at her crumpled form laying in the dirt. A river of blood flowed from her head, soaking the ground she lay on. They had to have heard her. I still had time to run, but I stood, paralyzed, as Mattholomule turned the corner. 

Willow came after, followed by Amity and Matt’s cronies. They stood around me, stunned into silence. Finally, Willow spoke up.

“Luz...what did you do?” she asked. I immediately dropped the shovel.

“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered, ”She just...tried to attack me.” Mattholomule furrowed his eyebrows.

“You knew she was with us,” he accused.

“Huh?” I mumbled.

“Hey slow down for a sec,” Willow interjected. She turned to Matt. “You said you were only bringing two people. So if she was actually with you, then that means you broke part of the deal.”

Mattholomule froze. His eyes turned to me. “What’s the _human_ doing here then?”

He said “human” with the same venom as a slur. Before I could knock his lights out, Amity intervened.

“Maybe we should worry about her.” She pointed to the still form laying in the dirt. “Is she even breathing?”

Goat Man crouched down and inspected the girl. He looked up and nodded to Boscha Two.

“She’s still breathing, but barely,” she said, ”We have about fifteen minutes before she goes into critical condition.” Goat Man performed a spell, and the body of the limp girl lifted into the air. They ferried her away, past the front of the house. Matt sighed, then looked at me and Willow. 

“You’re going to pay extra for this,” he said. Willow snorted.

“No, I’m not,” she replied, ’’Officially, this was a random accident that involved two random people that occurred by my house.” 

Mattholomule glared at her. “Listen here, bitch-“

“You shut the fuck up!” I stepped forward, pointing my finger into his chest. “I’m already getting tired of your shit, so don’t think for a fucking second you can talk to any of my friends like that, you pig-nosed son of a bitch.”

He looked shocked at my outburst, then a smug grin spread across his face. “What are you gonna do about it, princess?”

“I’ll beat your ass, how about that?’

“Ok then, be my guest.” He took a step back and turned to Willow. “Same place, same time. Bring her, if she makes it that long.” He turned and followed the rest of his posse into the woods with his hands in his pockets, whistling along the way. I turned to Willow and Amity.

"Well, I think that went well,” I said.

Willow stared at me. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

“Luz, you just handed yourself a death sentence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly had so many things I was gonna write here but I forgot. Anyways stan Willow


	5. Blatant Exposition and Shitty Pop Punk

I stared at the two of them. Willow stood still, with her hands stuffed into her raincoat. Amity began to laugh. She cackled until she fell down, then rolled into a ball and began to silently shake. 

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She sighed. “Matt’s gonna kill you.”

“Really? Matt? He can’t be that bad. He looks like a prepubescent maggot...” 

“Maggots are already prepubescent, and if he were one, he wouldn’t be in charge here,” Willow said, “Let’s go inside. I’ll tell you anything you wanna know. It’s the least I can do.”

Amity stood up, still giggling, and went inside. Willow stared at me for a moment and followed suit. I began to have the sneaking suspicion that I messed up. Big time. 

It was totally possible to run away. Bonesborough had miles of barren countryside surrounding it. While I’ve never visited them, I sometimes caught glimpses of distant cities farther out. I probably wouldn’t get far, but it was still early enough that I had a shot of surviving. Maybe I could settle in another town, make up an alias, get fake witch ears, and start my new life as Lux the not-Human. 

Who am I kidding, I'm fucked. 

I opened the door to Willow’s living room. She sprawled on the couch, staring into the middle distance. We sat across from each other on the couches, trying to relax.

“Where's Amity?” I asked quietly.

“She’s getting water. Trying to calm down,” Willow said, ”So what do you want to know?”

I didn’t know where to start. There was just too much, from the plants to Mattholomule to whether I was going to be alive in a week. I decided to start at the beginning.

“So you’re selling drugs?”

Willow flashed a sad smile. “Yeah, it started off as a way to pay the bills. Now I’m stuck.”

“So how does the whole thing work?” I said. Willow raised an eyebrow. “I mean, the whole drug dealing business? Do you just grow it? Do you deal?”

“Well, I honestly don’t know much. I grow the shit and hand it off to Matt. Few days later someone drops off a stack of cash,” said Willow. Amity appeared from the kitchen holding a glass of water. She stared at me like I was the main attraction at a funeral. Willow continued, ”The plant itself is called Horcabius Macia, or _Horaces’ Bush_ in the Old Language, but everyone just calls it Mace.”

Amity piped up, "Some people call it Chili.”

“Yeah, but they’re weirdos,” said Willow.

“I’ve also heard ‘Cabbage of the Titan’” she added. Amity sat down on Willow’s couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table. 

“If you ever call it that again I will personally end your life,” Willow said.

“Ok ok,” I interrupted, “Did Mattholomule pick anything up today?”

“Uh, no,” said Willow.

“Then why was he here.”

“To pick up more mace. You kind of interrupted that.”

“Oh....” I said, ”What if the police come?”

They both stared at me in astonishment. Then they burst into laughter.

“Police? We don’t have police, idiot,” Willow said. Amity was choking on her water, spluttering over the carpet.

“What about the government? How does that work?”

Willow thought for a moment. ”There is no government,” she said, ”Just a bunch of individual covens vying for power.”

“Wait, I thought the covens were created by Emperor Belos? Wasn’t that why Hexside had the tracks and stuff?” I asked.

“Nah,” Amity said,”The covens are all separate from one another. The ones from school are just the largest and most influential. They basically bribe the staff to train potential members.”

“And the Emperor's Coven?”

“Arguably the most powerful,” Willow said,”They have control everywhere, mostly in the Upper Torso, The Armpit, and parts of Bonesborough. They’re the closest thing we have to police, and they don’t give a shit about drugs.”

“What do they care about?”

Willow frowned. “Power, probably,” she answered,” Just don’t start causing trouble near them. Better yet, avoid them.”

I leaned forward, resting my chin in my hands. So that's what it all was. Power. That’s all it ever is, really. “Hey, how come there's no fighting?” I asked. Willow raised her eyebrows.

“What do you mean no fighting? You nearly killed someone like five minutes ago!”

“I know, I know. I meant like...wide scale fighting. Battle-royale type fighting. If I could just kill someone without repercussions, why isn’t Bonesborough a warzone?”

“Probably because no one wants to fight every day of their life to survive,” Amity said.

“And,” Willow continued, “Mattholomule wants you dead. That sounds like a repercussion to me.”

“Fair enough,” I muttered,”What are we going to do about that?”

Willow smiled sadly. “I have no idea. Best bet is to hope you survive until Thursday and then hope you survive the meeting with Mattholomule.”

I turned to Amity. “You got any ideas?” I asked.

“Um...no.” 

We all stared at each other in solemn silence. “I can fight,” I said.

“Yeah, but there’s no way you’ll beat Matt,” Willow said. She was silent for a few seconds, deep in thought. Then, she continued, ”If we can protect you until Thursday, all you have to do is not let Matt kill you when we meet him.”

“What about after that?”

Willow and Amity glanced at each other. “We’ll have something planned,” Willow said, “I promise.”

I sighed. “So what do we do in the meantime?”

“We need more food, for one,” Amity said.

“Well great,” said Willow, ”You and Luz can go shopping tomorrow. Take the car, I won’t be needing it. Since we also aren’t getting a paycheck this week, get nonperishables.”

“Wait, you guys have cars!?” I yelled.

“Long story short, some dude found one in a trash slug, copied it, and now we have cars,” Willow said.

“What about fuel and stuff?”

“Usually potions, but basically anything flammable can work."

“Oh. Cool, I guess. What are we doing right now?” I asked.

“What you are doing, Noceda, is going home before you mess anything else up,” Amity said.

“HUH!? THAT’S- fair, actually...” I said, ”Before I go, can I get y’all’s scroll number?”

Amity groaned. “What?”

“Uh-your scroll number?”

“No, no, the other thing.”

I thought for a second. The only other word she could mean was-

“You mean _y’all?”_

“Yeah, what the fuck is that, Spanish?”

I laughed, ”No, it’s just...you all. Both of you. You guys.”

Willow’s eyes darted between us. She was trying to force down another smile.

“You know what Amity? I think you should drive Luz home. I need to take care of my plants.”

Amity grunted and stood up. “Come on,” she said, waving her hand over her shoulder. I followed her to the mudroom. Upon closer inspection, it was a lot more heavy duty than I realized. The doors weren’t just reinforced with iron bolts; thick bands of metal ran behind them. The floorboards made a loud squeak, one too loud to be natural. Along each wall, there was at least one hole about the size of a coin, or maybe a poker chip. The entire room was a reinforced box. I also didn’t remember seeing any other exits from Willow’s house, meaning this had to be the only way in or out.

Amity led me across the vibrant green lawn to a covered car hiding in the trees. She pulled it back, revealing quite literally the ugliest car I’ve ever seen. It was brown and boxy, like a sedan straight out of a child's drawing. 

“Yikes, how old is that thing?” I said. 

“I don’t know, we got it secondhand.”

I walked around to the passenger side. The fender had a serious dent, and chunks of paint were peeling off at the edges. The door popped open with a light crunch, and the seat cracked a little when I sat in it.

“You sure this thing runs?”

“It did yesterday,” Amity said as she turned the ignition. The car didn’t start.

“You’re _sure_?”

“Shut up,” Amity replied. She pushed the gas pedal and tried again. After a few turns, the car roared to life. The engine made a deep bubbling sound that rattled the car before evening out into a low rumble. Amity smirked and pulled out of the driveway. We turned off at some point and ended up on a road bordering the cliffs. I looked out into the open boiling expanse of the ocean. 

“Hey does this thing play music?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Amity replied, “I’ll put something on.”

She pulled out her scroll and tapped it. The radio turned on and started emitting an annoyingly high and stringy guitar riff. Energetic drums followed it before the vocalist kicked in. 

_Light my head on fire!_

_You set my face a-flame!_

“So is this a joke or…?” I said.

_I’m a fucking_

_TO-MA-TO!_

I couldn’t handle any more and burst out laughing.

“Amity what the fuck is this?!” I shrieked. Her jaw was clenched, and her cheeks were a bright red, like the proverbial tomato.

“Shut the fuck up, Noceda.”

I rocked back and forth in my chair. There’s no way she listened to this unironically. It was actually the worst song I’ve heard in my life. 

“You know what? I’m taking away your music privilege,” I said, “How do I play music?”

“You just connect it with your scroll,” Amity said. I didn’t have time for that. I rifled through my jacket pockets, sifting through years of junk that I carried around with me on the off chance I would need it.

“Ah, here it is,” I said, pulling out an aux cable. I plugged one end into my phone, and tried to find the other port in the radio. There was a volume knob, air conditioning, and a cassette deck, for some reason. I pried off the side of the console. With a _CRACK,_ it popped off.

“What are you doing?” Amity asked.

“Looking for somewhere to plug this in,” I answered. I was honestly expecting to find nothing, but something about the cables connecting to the cassette deck seemed weird. Working my fingers into the crack, I managed to snag the wire. Slowly, I unplugged it, and pulled it out.

“No way,” I said.

“What?” Amity looked over.

I held up the end of an aux cord.

“The guy who made this was tripping balls. They used an aux cord for the cassette deck.”

“Words came out of your mouth and I have no idea what they mean. Just play your music,” she said.

I plugged my phone into the car. Scrolling through the music I downloaded before I left, I tried to think of something good. Might as well blast Amity with the classics first.

_Let the bodies hit the floor_

_Let the bodies hit the floor_

_Let the bodies hit the-_

“This is liter-” Amity started.

_FLOOOOR!!!_

Amity jumped about a foot in the air, which would have been hilarious if she didn’t pull the steering wheel with her. The car swerved, smashing me against the window. The tires screeched as the hood veered towards the cliff.

“AMITY!” I yelled, grabbing the witch. She slammed the brakes, throwing me, her, my phone, and miscellaneous junk forward. The car skidded to a halt on the edge of the cliff, peeking over the edge. We both sat there panting. I numbly turned off the song.

“Noceda...get off of me,” Amity said. I was still holding on to her arm.

“Sorry,” I muttered. She put the car in reverse and tried to get us back on the road. The tires managed to get a grip in the dirt and pulled up back with a lurch. We began driving, shrouded in silence.

“How about no more music,” said Amity. I agreed and unplugged my phone. We drove the rest of the way in silence. It was comfortable. looking out the window, watching the landscape change from cliffs to hills to forests, my thoughts kept wandered back to the girl I attacked. I tried to ignore the sound of the shovel against her head. The dull echo still bounced around my skull, hitting all the wrong corners. I wondered if she was still alive. 

For that matter, would I still be alive at the end of this, assuming it did end? Would it be in a fight? Would someone get to hear my last words? Would I just not wake up tomorrow? I’ve gotten out of some shitty situations before, but this was...unprecedented. 

“We’re here,” Amity said. The car pulled up in front of the Owl House. I sighed.

“You okay?” she asked. How the hell am I supposed to answer that? 

“Fine. I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow, I guess.” 

I got out of the car and walked to the door. 

“Hey Luz!,” Hooty said, “How ya doin’?”

I pushed him open. “Could be better,” I mumbled as I moved past him. The minute the door closed, Amity sped away, leaving tire marks in the grass. I headed towards the couch and dropped into it. Eda and King weren’t home. I guess they had a doctors appointment after all. Sinking deeper into the couch, I waited for something to happen. It never did.

I woke up to King’s skull slamming into my face. The demon had launched himself at me while I slept and woke me up. I cursed under my breath as I tried to fight off King.

“Luz you’re back!” he yelled. 

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied,”Get used to it.” He hung from my arm as I stood up. I brought my hand to my throbbing lip. Eda stood by the door, hanging up her coat and trying to hide a smile. 

“I totally didn’t miss you,” King said. He dropped to the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. My arm had that painful fizzy feeling you get when you’ve had a life-changing nap. 

“Sure. So how did your doctor's appointment go?” I asked the demon. He looked up like he was about to answer. Eda glared at him. King looked between us.

"Uh.....good,” he said,”I gotta go." He scampered off to the kitchen. I turned to Eda. She stood there with the most blatantly fake smile I’ve seen in my life. 

“Ok what did you two do?” I said. Eda chuckled and followed King to the kitchen.

“I promised him I would let him have a cupcake if he lied to you,” Eda said with a wink. 

“Where did you actually go then?”

“The park. Now, if you stop asking questions, I’ll teach you how to play Hexes Hold’em,” she added. There wasn’t really an option except to follow her. In the kitchen, I found King with half his face stuffed into a box, while Eda sat and shuffled a deck of cards. 

“So how do you play this.” I said. 

“Well first you have to bet,” she winked, “But I’ll make an exception this time.” She dealt the cards out, giving us ten each, and set the deck aside. I picked up my hand and tried to decipher the cards. Most of them seemed to have a similar vibe to tarot cards, and the others seemed to be weird symbols and knock off pokemon. 

“Each card can either do damage to the enemy card, or boost your own. There’s Corporeal and Non-Corporeal cards. The main difference between them is that Corporeal cards can die,” Eda explained, “If all of your Corporeal cards die, you lose the round. Non-Corporeal cards, however, can’t die, so they’re just used up and don’t count towards winning. Some cast spells and others provide a flat bonus affect. The point of the game is to balance the right Non-Corporeal cards with the right Corporeal cards, and then hope your opponent plays the right cards so that you can win. Make sense?”

“Uhh…,” I said, “Sure.”

“Eh, let’s just start and see if you have beginner's luck.”

I did not have beginner’s luck. I was completely decimated in the first round. The second one wasn’t much better. On the plus side, I got to cycle through a lot of new cards. Every time you lost one, you could draw a new replacement from the deck. Any surviving cards or unused spells stayed in play, which would have probably added another level of strategy if I had any survivors. Which I didn’t.

The cards, thankfully, were pretty intuitive most of the time. The green cloud with skulls, for example, created a green cloud of poisonous gas on the battlefield. The weird furry thing with teeth, believe it or not, turned into a weird furry thing with teeth and attacked things. However, some of the cards were, for lack of a better phrase, weird as hell. One was the silhouette of a person’s face superimposed onto the moon. I assumed it did moon magic things, so I played it with a werewolf-looking thing, assuming that a fucking werewolf would benefit from a moon. The moon card did not do the moon magic things I expected, and instead turned into a mini-Death Star and wrecked the entire board with electric blue arcs or lighting. Once the smoke cleared, it was the only thing left standing.

Eda’s face was priceless. I jumped up, not believing what happened. Then, the word “DRAW” appeared in bright flames above the board. 

“What the hell is that?!” I yelled, ”My moon thing is still standing, that should count, right?”

Eda chuckled. “That’s a Non-Corporeal card, kiddo.”

I poked the moon. It felt pretty fucking corporeal to me. “How?” I asked,”How is this thing non-corporeal?”

Eda leaned back and chuckled. “Some Non-Corporeal cards can act like Corporeal cards. They can be killed but they’re still not Corporeal cards and therefore you can’t win if one survives. They usually have more firepower to compensate. This one in particular is very powerful and that’s compensated by it attacking everything it can, including your own cards.”

I slumped into my chair. “What the fuck.” Eda laughed and started to deal out more cards. I sat there, fuming, planning my next move. One of my new cards had a pattern of interlocking triangles. It looked like a Non-Corporeal Card (I mean what else could it be. A quilt? An ugly ass sweater?) and I was willing to bet it was something protective. Might as well go with that, right? Then I could hope it protects my other guys while the moon thing wipes the floor with its lasers. Or it could just not do that. Who knows at this point. I sorted through the rest of my hand, trying to find the card that looked like it would take the most abuse. This turtle seemed like a good-

“So how was your day?” Eda asked slyly. I froze.

“Uhh…” I said. What was I supposed to say? I discovered my best friend was selling drugs? I nearly got Amity into a car crash? Man, a lot of stuff happened today, no wonder I took such a long nap.

“So are you gonna tell me or what?”

 _Oh god oh fuck I have to answer._ I looked up from my hand. She was still sorting through her new cards. “Well…” I said, “I nearly killed someone…”

Eda stopped flipping through her cards. She stared at me for a moment, and then went back to her hand.

“First time?” she asked.

“Uh, I guess,” I said, “I mean we don’t know if she survived but I’m pretty sure people can’t black out for that long and be ok.” Eda shuffled her hand, mixing cards around and changing around their order so fast it was a blur. She halted and looked at me.

“I know your expecting me to give you advice or something, but how the fuck did you murder someone on someone on your first day back?” she said. Her words made me sick. I was a murderer now, or at least I attempted it. I studied my cards. All of a sudden, the game didn’t seem as fun anymore. 

“Well I-”, I started. What was I going to say? I attacked her out of nowhere with a fucking shovel. That’s gonna make me look great. “Well it wasn’t exactly in self defense.”

Eda leaned forward. “Interesting,” she said, “What was it then.”

“You know how Willow grows mace? Well her boss came over, and they got me out of the house and I kind of jumped someone else outside her house, and that person turned out to be one of Willow’s boss’s cronies,” I blurted. The moon thing floated ominously above the table. It had a glowing blue mist that didn’t quite rotate in time with the rest of the moon. 

Eda placed her cards down and folded her hands under her chin. “When you say ‘Willow’s Boss’, you mean Mattholomule, right?” I nodded. “Nasty little pig,” Eda said, ”It takes a lot to make it in that kind of business. Didn’t think the kid had it in him. I bet he didn’t take it well?”

“Well Willow and Amity think he wants to kill me.”

Eda smiled sadly.

“You can’t say it’s not fair.”

I had no choice but to agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man depression is kicking my ass BUT WE GOT 1000 HITS AND 100 KUDOS LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!!! (at the time of writing it's 99 but I honestly don't care). I originally planned to have Luz have this super deep and angsty inner monologue about morality and mortality and stuff, but I got distracted and decided to make up rules for Hexes Hold'em lmao. I might even draw a few of the cards some day, who knows?
> 
> In other news this is probably a good time to tell you, my dear beautiful reader, that I have a playlist for this fic on Spotify. The link is below. 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48Iq8oFsO8KV73wvZtXp0I?si=7B2i8RBzQk6tWgDvUM0D1w


	6. Commerce and Compensations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after some deliberation, I have decided to revise my system for trigger warnings to be less redundant. If you haven't read them already, its in the introduction notes. This is your last warning before we go on. Everyone good? Good.

The witch sat on the cliff by the sea. The waves crashed against the rocks below, sending plumes of water up the rock face. If she fell, her body would be crushed to a pulp by the might of the ocean. She knew that, of course, that’s why she sat here, teetering on the edge of mortality. Times were changing, she thought, and there’s a good chance I won’t make it through what’s coming. She wished the ledge would collapse and drop her body into the sea so she could bypass the suffering by quitting now. She couldn’t simply just jump off by herself. The others needed her.

* * *

The first thing I saw was King, curled in a pool of sunlight by my sleeping bag. Sitting up and stretching, I tried to shake myself out of the blurry trance that comes after you wake up. 

“Fuck,” I muttered. I remembered what happened yesterday. “Fuck fuck _fuuuuck_.” Funny how I forgot I was on a hit list. You’d think that would be a little more memorable. My scroll pinged. Its screen flashed with a message from Amity. WAIT DID THAT SAY SHE’S HERE!? I scrambled to my suitcase, grabbing the first shirt I could find. Throwing it on, I snatched my jeans off the floor and danced around the room, trying to pull them up. Grabbing my beanie and jacket, I sprinted downstairs and bust through the front door, ignoring Hooty’s muffled yelp of pain. The car was idling on the lawn. I ran over and hopped inside.

“You’re late,” Amity said. She was wearing a T-shirt under a pink denim overall dress, complete with fishnets, combat boots, and matching spiky bracelets.

“Ok. And?” 

She huffed. “Are you wearing the same clothes from yesterday too?”

I looked down. My clothes were pretty clean, all things considered. Sure, I forgot to brush my teeth, and my hair probably looked like a hurricane fucked it up, but these were very, very superficial details.

“Um...yeah,” I answered. Amity sighed.

“I swear I’m the only one who actually changes their clothes,” she said.

“What about Willow?”

“She’s been wearing that sweater for nearly a week now. Thankfully, it doesn’t smell as bad as you, but it’s getting there.”

“At least I don’t exclusively wear pink,” I shot back.

Amity chewed on her lip. “You’ve only seen me wear two different outfits.”

“And they’re both pink,” I said.

“You can’t prove that I only have pink clothes.”

“Well, do you?”

Amity was silent.

I chuckled and turned towards the radio. Amity groaned as I plugged my phone in.

“Don’t worry, I’ll play something calm for your poor virgin ears,” I said. I scrolled through my library and racked my brains for something Amity might like. I mean if she likes specifically punk rock then I’m out of luck because I hate like 90% of it (except punk metal and some post-punk, but it’s on thin ice). 

I finally gave up and landed on Arctic Monkeys. I don’t even really like Arctic Monkeys, but Amity might. Probably not. It’s worth a shot, right?

I basked in the morning sun as the opening chords of 505 started playing. The car rumbled along the rough dirt road, heading for Bonesborough. My hands tapped out the beat of the song on the glove box. Amity was getting into it too, nodding her head along with the music. 

When the song ended, Amity spoke up. 

“Ok, Noceda, that actually wasn’t bad,” she said, “What do they mean with the ‘hands between your thighs’ line?” I smiled and looked out the window. At some point we had moved onto a smoother paved road. 

“I honestly don’t know. Best guess is that she’s either lounging around sexily or just straight up finger blasting herself.”

Amity chewed her lip. “How can she keep it up that long then?” she asked. I side-eyed her. “I mean look, if she’s waiting around and doesn’t know when he’s coming back, is she just sitting there the whole time masturbating or was she waiting until he opened the door?”

“ _That’s_ the part you focus on?!” I laughed. Amity started giggling too. 

“Well, it doesn’t make sense!” 

“You are so stupid,” I laughed. She gave me the middle finger and continued driving. 

“We’re almost there,” she said. The trees had thinned out, and I could see Bonesborough a few miles away. The familiar columns of smoke and ash drew closer, and soon we were on a main road heading into. 

We left the car in a small lot. Since Bonesborough had notably small streets, we couldn’t drive a car into town. Amity led me to the marketplace, a large dusty courtyard ringed with brick and mortar shops. Tents and pavilions crowded the plaza, creating the illusion of colorful rolling hills. The smell of cooking meat and rotting flesh was omnipresent.

To my surprise, Amity led me to one of the stone buildings instead of the sketchier (and probably much more budget friendly) stalls. “Uh,” I said, “What are we doing here?” 

“Shopping,” Amity answered, and pushed open the door. Inside, an entire art studio worth of color punched me in the face. The cobblestone walls were covered in folds of fabric. Around the floor, racks holding different outfits were scattered haphazardly. This bitch brought me to a clothing store.

“Aren’t we supposed to be like, _actually_ shopping?” I asked her. 

She turned and smiled. “We are shopping.”

I silently cursed the shit out of her.

“Ok, so correct me if I’m wrong, but Willow said we didn’t have any money. Why are we wasting it on clothes?”

“Well,” Amity leaned in, “This isn’t Willow’s money. It’s mine. And since it’s mine, and belongs to me, I’m going to spend it however I want.” 

“Ok, slow down there. Where did you get this money from?”

Amity stopped. “I mean _technically_ it belongs to the twins, but it got passed down to me,” she said, “Now enough talking, I wanna buy stuff.” She made a beeline towards the pink section of the store. I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to a stop.

“You already have a bunch of pink clothes, you don’t need anymore.” 

She looked at me in disgust. “You must be a very sad person, Noceda.”

I resisted the urge to slap her. “Ok, look,” I said, “How about we each try to find something for you like that’s _not pink.”_

Amity thought for a second. She made at least five different expressions before she said, “No.”

“Aw, is wittle baby Amity too scawed to bwanch out?”

“Fine. Fuck you.”

I laughed and headed towards the mauve section of the store. “Fuck you too, _mamacita_.”

“I’m still not answering that!” she yelled as I walked away. I chuckled and moved around the racks of vermillion and crimson. I shuffled through tunics and t-shirts, neither of which seemed very Amity-ish to me. I walked to the back wall, dodging around racks of pearl and cream gowns. Gray seemed to be the exact opposite of pink. However, the clothing in that section was either formal wear or looked like a gravestone.

I moved onto the green section, moving from juniper to chartreuse before finding myself in the yellows. I ran my hand along the racks. Kilts, kimonos, and lederhosen didn’t seem like Amity’s thing. Sure, she would hate them, but they also wouldn’t look good on her. I had to pick something that she could actually wear. I finally pulled out something that might work. Oh yeah. This could totally work. Not only would she look amazing in it (the yellow would bring out the color of her eyes), Amity would _hate_ it. 

I rejoined her near the register. “Ok, show me what you got,” I grinned. She huffed and pulled out a shoulderless turquoise blouse. 

“Huh, I didn’t actually think you would do it,” I said, “Anyways, here’s mine!” I unveiled my pick. It was a sunflower yellow romper with a floral pattern of small, pink-petaled blossoms. 

“I hate it,” she said. 

“I knew you would. Now come on and pay up,” I said. Amity grumbled and handed over some money for the clothes. The clerk, a mustachioed eyeball with too many pupils, dropped them into a bag and we went on our way. 

We headed into the center of the mess of stalls and tents. I stared in awe at everything, trying to take it all in without losing Amity. Through the cacophony of stall owners bargaining with shrewd customers and the occasional scream, I saw everything from spices and snacks to food and drink, along with assorted cursed objects, tomes of darkness, and a shrunken head that kept winking at me. We arrived at a decaying brick building on the opposite side of the marketplace. This section of the market was less crowded, and the window was shuttered.

“Oi! Morton!” Amity banged on the window, “Open up!” The shutter rolled open, revealing a lanky witch wearing a funnel as a hat. Amity leaned on the counter.

“Look, we need medicine for Eda, you got it?” she asked brusquely. 

“Yeah, I got it,” Morton squeaked, “It’s just going to take a little while to finish.” 

Amity sighed. “I can wait,” she said. She turned to me. “Since I have to stick here, you can go get us some food. There’s a stall nearby that sells purple and orange potatoes. We want the orange ones.” She grabbed my shoulders. “The _orange_ ones, Noceda, don’t get the purple ones, get the _ORANGE_ ones. Clear?” 

“Yeah, it’s clear,” I said.

“Good,” she said, “Go down that way, and take a right when you get to the guy selling skulls.” She pressed some money in my hand and pointed down an aisle. Leaving the bags with her, I walked down the street, strolling between artisan snake oil merchants and a traveling cart selling suspiciously oily snakes. My task seemed simple enough. I just needed to buy potatoes. The stand selling skulls came into view. Heading over, I tried to focus on what I was buying. Potatoes. Potatoes of a certain color. An extremely specific color. 

Shit. I didn’t know what color to buy. I took a right, ignoring some suspiciously human-looking skulls that seemed to look at me with their eyeless sockets, and made my way down the next alley.

Moving through the crowds, I noticed a hooded figure keeping pace with me on the opposite side of the road. I couldn’t catch a glimpse of them, but their gait seemed familiar. I kept my head down and looked forward. Another one headed my way, weaving through the oncoming traffic. They both circled like sharks, drawing closer, waiting for the first drop of blood to hit the water. I’ve been around long enough to know I was going to get jumped. The only way out was to slip away unnoticed. I just had to find the right opportunity...

Mattholomule popped out from behind a stall. “Hey, Luz,” he said, “Fancy seeing you here.”

I froze. “It’s a small world, isn’t it?” I replied. I lowered my fist, slowly bringing my shoulder in. 

Mattholomule laughed. “Yeah, it sure is. Look, let’s get straight to the point: this is compensation.” He glanced behind me and gave a nod.

“ _Vete a la mierda”,_ I said, and spun around. Boscha Two stood with her arm raised, holding a club. My fist connected with her jaw and gave a satisfying _CLONK_ as she stumbled away. Goat Man materialized from the throng of shoppers and swung at me. I dodged out of the way and threw in a quick jab for good measure. 

Without warning, the side of my head screamed in pain. It left a throbbing ache in my right ear, and blood trickled down my neck. I turned to see Mattholomule holding a rock. “This is going to be fun,” he said, and stepped towards me. I tried to face both of them, but there was no way I could win a two on one. To accentuate my point, Goat Man jumped forward and swung his fist at me. I took it in the shoulder, but felt the impact deep into my arm.

The heel of a boot dug into the back of my knee and I collapsed to the ground. I have to get up, I need to get up. I need to get up GET UP _GET UP!!!_

It was no use. The second I rose to my feet, Mattholomule gave me an uppercut that left spots in my vision. I reeled back, trying desperately to breathe through the blood spilling out of my nose. Mattholomule strolled over, grabbed my arm, and yanked up. I was lifted off the pavement and the world spun around me in a dizzying blur of colors.  
  
The ground slammed back into me. Pain, screaming, agonizing pain, roared up my arm. I curled up into a ball, out of options. A barrage of kicks landed on my back and head, each stomp rocking my body, opening up new patches of skin and beating muscles into pulp. One of them drove their heel in my hand, and I could feel flesh tear apart under their boot. Something inside me cracked, releasing another wave of pain through my body. 

A flash of heat seared my skin. The kicking ceased, and the burning grew stronger. It came in bursts, more and more and more and more and it wouldn’t fucking stop until it culminated in a roaring blast that left my skin burning. 

My limp body gently rose into the air. I dared to open the one eye I could still move and saw Amity, panting, with magenta flames licking her arms. She took a deep breath, and they disappeared. 

“‘m’ty?” I struggled. My lip flapped against my chin. I reached out to her, and she rushed over to my floating body. Even though everything seemed too bright, I could clearly see the damage on my hand. It was nearly split in half, with only a few stringy bits of viscera holding my index finger and thumb to the rest of my palm.

“Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay, don’t worry,” Amity murmured. She was the only thing I could see. Her hand closed around mine. It was impossibly soft, a small island of comfort in the sea of pain that I was drowning in.

I broke down and whimpered as tears fell from my eyes. She gently stroked my hair and pulled me away from the market. I leaned into her chest as my good eye finally closed. When I opened it again, I was in her car, laying across the back seat. Trees flashed by the window in a blur.

“‘m’ty?” I called. 

“I’m here,” she said, “It’s going to be over soon, don’t worry.” My pain had receded to a screaming ache. It throbbed in tune with my heartbeat like a steady drum, beating slower and slower until I died and was free of this agony. I tried to keep my eye open. If it closed, I could die. I didn’t want to die. Not yet. However, the rocking of the car and the persistent torture wore me down, and I dropped into unconsciousness.

Steady arms carried me into a cool room. Blurred voices created a ever present hum that assaulted my ears.

“She’s pretty messed up,” I heard a husky voice say, “But I should be able to patch it up. I’ll have to knock her out for a while so I can work on her, though.” 

They placed me on a bed. The movement sent a fresh wave of pain up my body. I moaned in agony. As if it were an answer to my anguish, a cool bliss washed over me, and I happily slipped into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahah school is beating my ass but hey new chapter. I'm actually fairly proud of this one.  
> It's funny how the entire week I'm overthinking what to write here and now I'm actually typing it out I have no idea what to say. 
> 
> Ok I just tacked this on here because I don't know where else to put this BUT I JUST LEARNED THE EASTER ISLAND HEADS ARE ACTUALLY FULL BODY STATUES????? LIKE WHAT IN THE FUCK??? WAS NO ONE GONNA TELL ME THIS???


	7. A Brief Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *listens any song with even the smallest reference to romance* "it's about THEM" *sobs uncontrollably* "because theyre in LOVE”

“This has got to be some kind of record,” Willow said.

“I’ve seen worse,” the voice replied.

“No, I mean how quickly she got herself in trouble.”

“Oh,” they said, “Fair point.”

I groaned and opened my eyes. Someone had laid me on a table in the corner of a sparsely decorated room. The walls were bare, with a single window to let in light. The floor was tiled like a bathroom, with a drain in the center. Willow leaned back in a chair and next to her sat Viney, holding a clipboard. She was wearing a leather apron over a linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing surprisingly beefy forearms and thick, calloused hands.

“She’s awake,” Willow noted. 

Viney hopped up and crossed over to me. “How ya’ feeling?” she asked. My left arm seemed to be wrapped in bandages painted with blue runes. In addition, large pads of cloth were taped to the sides of my legs, and I was wearing a hospital gown, or at least the Boiling Isles equivalent. It was made of a light cotton, and provided a disturbing amount of ventilation.

“Good, I guess? I feel kind of numb,” I said.

“Those would be the painkillers,” Viney said, “Now tell me if this hurts.” She squeezed my wrist.

“Ow.”

“What about this?” She dug her fingers into my shoulder.

“It feels like you’re poking me.”

“But it doesn’t _hurt_ hurt, right?” she asked.

“No, not really.”

Viney nodded and marked something down on her clipboard. “You know, I didn’t realize you were back on the Boiling Isles until Amity dragged you in,” she mentioned.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that. I’m, uh, back now…” Viney inspected the bandages on my arm.

“I might have to replace those later…” she mumbled, “Well, you seem to be better. I’m going to keep you here for the night so your bones can finish regrowing. Now, I gotta go take care of Puddles.” She threw down the clipboard and ran out the door.

“Isn’t it unhygienic to have a griffin at a hospital?” I asked Willow. She looked up from her scroll.

“This isn’t a hospital. It’s Viney’s ranch,” she said, going back to typing.

I waited a few minutes, studying the pattern of cracks on the ceiling. “This may sound crazy by Boiling Isles standards, but why didn’t you bring me to an actual hospital?”

“Too public. Plus, I trust Viney not to kill you in your sleep.”

“Fair enough.” I said. Willow typed out one last message on her scroll and put it away. She sat back and let out a long sigh.

“Hey, you wanna read this?” Willow asked. She leaned forward and picked up the clipboard.

“Sure,” I said, “I’m morbidly curious.”

“Are you going to regret it?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Probably, but now I really gotta know.”

“Ok,” Willow sighed and flipped through the first few pages. “Let’s see here...dislocated shoulder, several greenstick fractures in the wrist, broken nose, broken arm, precisely three broken teeth…”

I ran my tongue across my teeth. They seemed to be fine, actually. I reached up and felt my nose. It was covered in a large bandage, but underneath it felt normal. Tender, but normal. Willow flipped to the next page.

“Continuing down the list of fractures, you have an orbital blowout fracture (I think it means the area around your eye broke) and there was a chunk taken out of your spine.”

I gently rubbed the area around my eye. It was tender, but underneath the skin I felt the border of my eye socket. It was perfectly intact.

“Ouch...” I said, “That really happened?”

“I mean, yeah. Viney is playing it off, but you were pretty fucked up,” Willow said, “On top of that, your bottom lip was literally falling off, your hand was torn apart, and you have second degree burns all over your legs.”

I tilted my head towards her, confused. “Burns? When did they burn me?”

“Um...that part was Amity. She scared them off, and I guess you were caught in the crossfire. Your jacket actually took most of it.”

I shot up, ignoring the stabbing pain in my side. Oh no. Ohhhh no. “Willow,” I said, “What happened to my jacket?”

To my surprise, Willow broke into a grin. “Oh, it’s in the hallway. I can go get it if you want.”

“Uh...sure, I guess,” I answered, “Can you get me a blanket too?” Willow got up, popped through the door, and snatched something off of a shelf across the hall. She came back and dropped a blanket, my jacket, bra, half of my blood stained t-shirt, and a pile of scorched rags that used to be my jeans into my lap. I picked up my field jacket and shoved the rest of my clothes into a small pile. The bottom had a few scorch marks, but besides that it was fine.

“Can you help me put this on?” I asked, holding it up. Willow nodded and guided my arms into the sleeves. It slipped over me like a second skin, protecting me from the cool air. I drew it closer around me and laid back down. My ribs ached in protest.

“Hey you got a mirror?” I asked. Willow paused and patted the pockets of her raincoat. She slipped her hand in the breast pocket and pulled out a large shard of glass.

“Will this work?” she asked. I gingerly took it and held up the mirrored surface. The first thing that jumped out to me was my black eye. It was a perfect circle, straight out of a cartoon. I angled the mirror, trying to look around at what else was new. My face was still mostly intact, although there was a bandage over my nose and a pad taped to the side of my head. The only real thing of note was a small white scar that traced its way from the corner of my bottom lip to just above my chin. I ran my hand along it, feeling the smooth, fresh skin. Moving on, I checked my teeth. One of them was slightly whiter than the others, but besides that I looked fine.

“Thanks,” I said, handing it back to Willow. “Uh, by the way, where’s Amity?”

Willow smirked. “She’s in the shower,” she said, “Actually, I should probably go get her out, she’s been in there for a while.” Willow walked into the hall. There was some banging on the door, and I heard her yell, “Luz is awake!”

“What?” Amity yelled. It was muffled by the door.

“Luz. Is. Awake!” Willow yelled back.

“Oh, shit.” The shower shut off. Willow came back inside, pulled out her scroll, and started typing.

“Who’re you talking to?” I asked.

“Gus, actually,” she said. She went silent again, chewing on her lip as she typed.

“Hey Willow?” I said. She looked up again and raised her eyebrows. “What’s our plan for the day after tomorrow? After, you know, Thursday?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she muttered. The door creaked open. Amity stood there, wearing the yellow romper I picked out for her. Her hair was still wet, and her eyes were red and puffy.

“Hey Amity, how’s it going,” I said. Her lip quivered. For a second I thought she was going to cry.

“Fuck you! You nearly died!” she yelled.

“Oh, well, I’m sorry, I’ll remember to do that next time! _Puta!_ ” I yelled back, flipping her off with my good hand. She stomped over and was about to say something before Willow cut her off.

“I think I’ll leave you guys to it,” she weakly chuckled, “I’m gonna see what Viney is up too.” She hurried out the door, leaving me and Amity in an awkward silence. Willow had effectively derailed our fight. We sat there awkwardly, not making eye contact for more than a few seconds. She finally drew up a chair and sat by my bedside.

“Thanks for caring, I guess,” I muttered. Amity pursed her lips. Besides the redness, her eyes had bags that gave my black eye a run for its money.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “If I hadn’t made you buy the potatoes…” Her eyes filled with tears, threatening to spill over. I reached out and tried to pat her shoulder.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It wasn’t your fault,” I said. She wiped her eyes and sniffled.

“Really? Then who’s was it?” she asked.

“Well, first off, me, because I attacked that girl,” I said, counting on my fingers, “Second, Mattholomule, because he could’ve chosen the path of forgiveness and not beat me up, and then me again because I forgot what potatoes I was supposed to buy.”

Amity stared at me. Then, she put her face in her hands and started shaking. Even though the pain made me want to scream, I sat up and laid my hand on her back, gently rubbing a spot between her shoulders.

“Hey, it’s-” I started. She burst out in laughter. I removed my hand, taken aback at her sudden outburst. She held her sides, breaking into a fit of giggles.

“Noceda, you are so fucking stupid,” she snorted. My jaw dropped.

“You know what? I should’ve just gone and died so I didn’t have to deal with this disrespect,” I muttered. Amity rocked in her chair, holding her sides. Her laughter was infectious, and soon I started chuckling too.

“How?” she said, wiping a tear from her eye, “I asked you like, three times!”

“Look, I just forgot ok? It’s not that big of a deal!”

Amity started choking. She retched over the floor. I leaned over and thumped her on the back.

“Thanks,” she said, sitting back up, “I’m still mad at you, by the way.”

“Ok, then why are you wearing the clothes I got you?” I smirked. Her ears flattened against the sides of her head.

“I had nothing else to wear...”

“Wait, you can move your ears?” I exclaimed. She squinted at me.

“Have you never noticed?” Amity asked incredulously. I couldn’t say anything in my defense, because she was totally right.

“Shut up,” I muttered. Amity giggled and called me an idiot. “So, why did you not have anything to wear?” I asked. She looked down.

“I-uh well... I kind of stayed here overnight…” she mumbled. I couldn’t help but stare at her.

“So that’s why you were taking a shower...” I said. I felt annoyingly warm inside, not that warm and fuzzy kind of warm you get when you see a puppy or something, but the kind of warm that was a bubbling pit in my stomach that made me want to throw up.

Willow opened the door. She muttered a goodbye into her scroll and put it away. “Something came up,” she said, “I’m gonna have to take the car.” Amity jumped up and was about to interject, but Willow held up her hand and stopped her. “This isn’t an argument. I’m taking the car. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.” She turned and walked out the door. Amity remained there, mouth hanging open like a surprised fish.

“Hah, idiot, now you’re stuck with me,” I said. She sank into her chair, distraught. I propped myself up on my elbow and tried to comfort her. “Hey, it’s okay. We can listen to music or something, it’ll be fine.”

Amity shook her head and gazed at the entryway. “I can deal with you for now. It’s Willow I’m worried about. She never acts like this unless it’s something serious. And if she’s picking us up tomorrow, then she’s probably going out of town.”

I digested this information. “So what’s the best scenario?”

Amity sat and thought for a moment. “She’s going to Scarsville to visit Gus.”

“Uh, what’s Scarsville?” I asked.

“Another city. It’s located in the Armpit. That’s where Gus’ university is.”

“So she’s probably just visiting Gus. There’s no need to worry,” I assured her. Amity shook her head but said nothing. She fiddled with her hands, staying silent, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a black ring.

“I bought it after you...you know…” she said, “Here.” She stiffly held it out to me. I accepted the ring and rolled it between my fingers. It was thick and oblong, contrasted with a circular hole and thin edges. It reminded me of those diagrams showing how the moon caused the tides they showed us back in school. 

“It’s for fighting,” Amity explained, “That’s why it’s shaped like that. One end is supposed to give structure to your fist, and the other is for punching stuff. They thin the edges down so it doesn’t push away your other fingers.” I slipped it on my index finger, noting how heavy it was.

“Thanks,” I said, “Wait, when did you get this?” Amity smiled ruefully.

“Someone still had to get the potatoes. I saw it on the way past and thought you might need it,” Amity said.

“Aw, _mamacita_ , you really do care,” I cooed and ruffled her hair. She batted my hand away, cursing like a sailor. I laughed as she tried to smooth her hair back into its normal shape.

“You wanna listen to some music?” I asked. She looked up from tying her hair back and nodded. I reached into my pocket before realizing I didn’t have pants.

“Where’s my phone?”

“It might be outside,” she said, still sitting in her chair. A few seconds passed.

“Well, are you going to get it?” She groaned and stood up.

“Fineee,” she said. She shuffled to the door, turned around, and flipped me off before running out.

“ _¡Oye!_ ” I yelled after her. _What a bitch,_ I thought, _she has to know what she’s doing. Bitch._ I blew a raspberry at the open door.

Amity turned the corner, holding my phone upside down. She handed it over, and I inspected it carefully. The screen was shattered, forming a spider web of broken glass. I held down the power button. Come on, come on. The logo flickered on. I cheered, taking Amity by surprise.

“I assume it works,” she said. I nodded as I pulled out my earbuds and got to work untangling them.

“Anything you want?” I asked. She liked 505, but that kind of music was in short supply on my phone. I scrolled through my list of songs.

“I don’t know,” she said, “Whatever you want.” I raised my eyebrows. If she was gonna let me have free reign over the music, she was gonna face the consequences.

“Ok then, stick this in your ear.” I handed her one of the earbuds. She awkwardly popped it in and waited. I picked out the goriest, most violent song I could think of. “You’re sure you can handle this?” I asked.

Amity glowered. “After dragging you out of the market, I think I can handle anything.”

I shrugged and pressed play. A heavy drum roll started. A chaotic and messy guitar descended, and the vocalist entered with a low, growling scream. The lyrics were about the speaker throwing up their guts and organs onto their lover or something. I could never really tell, but it wasn’t exactly the most relatable subject material. Amity nodded along with the music, bopping back and forth with the guitar solo that started after the introduction.

“That was interesting,” she said after the song ended, “You actually like listening to this?”

“What can I say, sometimes I’m in the mood for violence,” I said.

We went back and forth like this for hours. I would play a song, she would comment on it, and I would adjust. Occasionally I would throw in a weird one, like pop or rap or just anything that definitely wasn’t my standard taste of death metal. These were always around fifty-fifty for her.

Before I knew it, the sun began to set. Golden orange light streamed through our window, washing the entire room in a golden glow. A crash came from down the hall. Amity shot up, taking out her earbud. Viney, covered in blood, burst through the door, carrying a body.

“Get out of here!” she yelled. Amity reacted quicker than I could think and dragged me out of bed. Bolts of pain shot up my sides, snaking through my ribs like fiery roots digging into my side. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, trying to steady myself before I keeled over.

Viney laid the body on the table, unceremoniously dumping my clothes on the floor. It was a child, impossibly small and frail. Through the pool of blood, I could see Viney’s hands pressed against their stomach, holding back intestines from spilling over. They couldn’t possibly have been older than twelve.

“Hey, kid, listen to me. It’s gonna be ok, just hold on and listen to my voice, ok?” Viney said as she drew a spell circle and started cleaning away the blood. The child grimaced in pain. Their hair was matted with dried blood.

“We should go,” Amity whispered. I nodded. It was impossible to rip my eyes off the mutilated form laying on the table. Amity guided me out into the hall, not saying a word. Wood paneling covering the hallway. Directly across from my room was the bathroom. Taking a right, I saw the front door, slightly ajar. A small set of cubbies with a vase of flowers leaned against one wall. Next to it was a closed door, and across from that stood a woman, weeping silently.

“Hey, um, we kind of need to go through there…” Amity mumbled. The witch looked up. Her face was like the child’s in the other room. Same eyes, same nose, same jawline. She nodded and scooted away from the door. On our way past, Amity turned to her. “They’re going to be ok,” she said, “Viney is the best healer I know.”

The woman stared at her blankly. Her eyes were hollow and distraught. Amity inched past her and dragged me into the room. It was like the other one, except with two beds and a night stand instead of the table. One bed was made, with finely folded sheets, while the other was a mess. The pillow lay abandoned into the corner, and the blankets were amassed into an enormous pile. On the nightstand lay Amity’s bracelets and my beanie.

She laid me down on the new bed and then sat across from me on the messy one. We laid there in silence, trying to register what happened. It felt like an eternity. At some point we decided to start listening to music again. It helped drown out the noises from the room next door.

After a few more hours, I was able to accurately guess whether Amity would like a song before she even listened to it. A little after that, we heard the shower run and stop a few minutes later. There was silence from the other room.

Viney eased open the door. She was wearing a pajama set patterned with griffins. Her hair was wet, and her skin was slightly pink. “They’re ok,” she said. Amity and I exhaled. “Do you guys mind if I hide out here for a little? I don’t want to bother the mom.”

We agreed. “Luz, have you had lunch?” she asked. I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. My stomach growled, upset I wasn’t feeding him. I answered no, I had not, and would really like something to eat. Viney smiled and went to get us some food. She returned with a small stack of sandwiches on a plate. We sat there, eating in silence.

“So,” I asked, “Do you know what happened?” Amity tried to shush me, but Viney waved her off.

“It’s ok,” she said, “And I honestly don’t know. It looked like they were gutted, but the cuts were too rough to be lacerations. Best guess is they either crossed the wrong demon or they got attacked by someone with a very broken knife.”

I sat back, absorbing this information. “So what do you think is going to happen?”

Viney shook her head. “I’ll probably never see them again. Sometimes people just drop in with random injuries, and it’s not my place to ask questions.” She slapped her knees and stood up. “Well, I’ll let you guys go, there’s stuff I need to attend to. But first, I have to give Luz her medicine.”

“Excuse me, my what?”

Amity grinned evilly. “Oh, you’ve never had bone juice before?”

“Uh, no, obviously not,” I snapped. Viney pulled out a bottle from the nightstand and poured a soupy liquid into a spoon.

“Open up,” she said. She stuck the spoon in my mouth. The potion tasted bitter and lime-y. I forced it down, trying not to choke. An entire bottle of apple blood would be better than this. Viney put it back and waved goodbye.

I found it surprisingly easy to get under the sheets. My arm and ribs were numbed beyond relief. Amity’s voice floated across the room. “If you need anything, ask me.”

“I would never ask you for anything, Blight,” I said. She chuckled and turned out the lights. I laid in the cool darkness, listening to her steady breathing.

“Amity?” I asked, “There’s actually one thing.”

“Mhm?”

“Can you wake me up early? I want to see the sunrise.”

She was silent as she realized the significance of my request.

“I will. Don’t worry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you have all handled your investments accordingly (jk I know y’all are broke) and it’s kind of funny to see how many of my friends have no idea how the economy works  
> Man writing this one was rough because I had to cut out a bunch of lines that I really liked in order to make the foreshadowing more...foreshadowy. I also happen to have a list of song descriptions sitting around that I’ll probably never get to use. It hurts :(
> 
> BEFORE I FORGET: i made another playlist lol.
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/16EGu6gUYoGuIjLVIb4HKY?si=b55Sa_zMSSa1uZUbOwjLiA
> 
> Anyways, I kind of wanted to talk about my plans for this fic and just general thoughts. I’ve been getting my ass beat by depression and just general loneliness over the past few months, and writing this, and just putting a story on paper, has been so fulfilling. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into this for a few months straight now and somehow haven’t felt any burnout. It’s honestly been a great experience so far, and I can’t wait to ride this out until the end because it’s been some of the happiest moments of my life. That being said, I’m going to have to take a break at some point, and it’s coming up pretty soon. Hope you guys have a great day today :)


	8. The Meeting Pt.1: Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me *wearing a field jacket, skinny jeans, a beanie, waving a bat around my house*: "what the FUCK is kinning?"

The witch sped through the forest in her car. She kept her eyes on the road, ignoring the urge to pull the steering wheel to the trees. The meeting had gone well. If her friend survived, they would be in good hands. She just had to drive the car. No more, no less. Her eyelids were heavy, her vision blurring. They can wait until tomorrow, she thought, and pulled over to the side of the road. The witch reclined her chair, pulled her coat tighter around herself, and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Blood spilled out of my body, dropping into the abyss below. Intestines wrapped themselves around my neck and squeezed and strangled as they wound tighter and tighter to the point I was sure they would crush my throat and separate my head from my body. They transformed into invisible hands that suffocated me. I kicked and screamed in agonizing silence, fighting to stay conscious as my head exploded with pain. The silhouette of a pillar flashed before me.

My eyes shot open. I was covered in sweat and couldn’t breath. Spasming waves of pain traveled up my arm, paralyzing me in bed. I tried to inhale, to fill my lungs with fresh air, but the cramping was too much. Curling up into a ball, I laid in my bed, shaking, until the pain receded.

“Amity?” I whimpered. The still form on the other bed shifted. “Amity-” Another flare of pain cut me off. It racked my body with a roiling flood of agony. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for it to subside.

A cool hand took mine. I held it, grateful for the relief it brought. I managed to inhale, fighting to breathe, before the pain finally faded. I opened my eyes and found Amity, kneeling by my bed.

“You’re crushing my hand,” she said. 

“Sorry,” I muttered, and pushed myself up and leaned against the headboard. Amity rose and sat on the edge of my bed. Her hair was a giant fluffy mess. I probably didn’t look that much better myself; I hadn’t showered in two days.

“How are you feeling,” she asked.

“Pain,” I mumbled. My left arm was still aching, but it had mostly toned down. Amity smiled sheepishly. 

“Yeah,” she said, “Bone regrowing sucks major ass.” She looked down, not knowing what else to say.  
I craned my neck to look out the window. The moon wasn’t in sight, and the stars were beginning to fade.

“What time is it?” I asked. She looked at her scroll.

“Five a.m.”

“You know when the sun rises?” I asked. She shook her head grimly. I sighed, and leaned back into the pillow. It was too late to fall asleep, and too early to get up and actually do stuff. 

Amity twiddled her thumbs, looking for something to say. She got up and opened the door to the nightstand.

“Whatcha doin’?” I asked. She rifled through it, moving aside bottles and tubs of different liquids. 

“Looking for something to do,” she said, as she reached into the back of the cabinet. “There’s nothing,” she added. 

“Well fuck.”

Amity sighed and got back in her bed. I groaned as another wave of pain made its way up my body. It wasn’t as bad as the last one, but it still hurt like a bitch. Amity looked over, checking to see if I was ok. I nodded in return, and she went back to staring at the ceiling. At some point, I nodded off and fell into a drowsy slumber.

Amity shook me awake. I jolted upright and was punished with an ache in my side. She withdrew her hand and gestured to the door. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I slid to the edge of my mattress and shakily stood up. Keeping a hand on the bed, and then the wall, I made my way through the doorway. Amity opened the front door for me, and held back the exterior screen. The forest had been cleared out in front of the house, creating enough clearance to see the horizon. Someone, probably Viney, had erected a paddock and a stable for Puddles. 

Amity helped me sit down on the front stoop. It was a simple concrete block situated right under the front door. She sat next to me, drawing her knees up to her chin. We watched the sky grow lighter, turning into a golden orange that spread over the horizon. The sun peeked over the top of the forest, flinging rays of honey-colored light into the clouds. Beams of light filtered through the trees, bathing us in a warm glow.

“I think sunsets are better,” I said. Amity sideyed me.

“Really? That’s all you have to say?” she said.

“Well yeah,” I spread my arms, gesturing to the horizon, ”This is cool and all, but it’s just orange.” Amity huffed and shook her head. 

“You never fail to surprise me, Noceda.”

I chuckled and leaned back. Amity stayed still, with her arms wrapped around her legs. The silence between us was comforting, like a warm blanket you'd find at a relatives house. I studied the way her hair flowed behind her ears and curved down to the nape of her neck. It was definitely mint green, I decided. Not teal or turquoise. Those were too blue. Her sun-colored clothing was wrinkled, but they soaked up the beams of light in a way that was mesmerizing. She pulled herself closer and shivered.

"Something the matter?” I asked. She chewed her lip, taking her time to answer. She turned, stared at me for a second, and shook her head.

"It's nothing," she said morosely. I shrugged and turned towards the sun. Its movement reminded me of how much time was passing, of how much of my life I still had, and how this was probably the last time I saw the sun rise. 

After basking in the light for a few more minutes, we got up and went inside. I hobbled to the other end of the hallway, eager to explore. Viney was in the kitchen, frying up eggs and bacon by the stove. A small table with a red checkerboard tablecloth sat in the middle. She turned and widened her eyes in surprise. 

“What are you two doing up this early?” she asked. 

“I wanted to see the sunrise. What about you?” I asked. She gestured to the pan.

“Makin’ breakfast. You want some?” I nodded eagerly. Viney opened the fridge by the stove and pulled out a carton of eggs. “I hope you like them scrambled,” she said, dropping a couple more into the pan. Personally, I would have preferred _huevos fritos_ , because that was factually the best way to make eggs and are vastly superior to any other forms of egg making and I will die on that hill. But scrambled was fine.

Amity and I sat down at the table. Viney came over with utensils and food. She slid a plate in front of me, and I dug in, practically inhaling my food.

“Hey,” I said, resurfacing from my meal, “You got any hot sauce?” 

Viney nodded to the fridge. “It’s in there. We have Diet and Extra Garlic.” I stopped, already halfway to the fridge, and turned around.

“How do you get diet hot sauce?” I asked. 

“Well, it’s fat free, sugar free, meat free,” Viney counted on her fingers, “Gluten free, garlic free, and salt free.”

“So you’re basically eating nothing,” I said, opting for the Extra Garlic. Amity stared at me as I sat down and flooded my eggs with hot sauce. 

“That’s honestly disgusting,” she said as I popped a chunk of eggs, dripping in sauce, into my mouth. “How can you even eat that?”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” I retorted, mouth full of egg. The garlic flavor nearly made me throw up, but I wasn’t going to admit that. She huffed and went back to eating her sad, un-baptized eggs.

Afterwards, Viney went to check on the kid and their mom. Not knowing what else to do, Amity and I returned to our room. I pulled out my scroll. No messages or notifications in sight. “Hey Amity,” I said, “What’s Penstagram? Is it like Instagram but...witch-y?”

Amity looked up, puzzled. “What the fuck is Instagram?” 

I should have seen that one coming. 

“Never mind.”

“Just hand it to me,” she grumbled. I tossed the phone at her. It completely overshot the target and smacked against the wall. Amity grumbled, picked it up, and started typing away. A familiar voice floated down the hallway. 

“What’s up, Mittens?!” Edric kicked open the door. He wore a fur coat, chinos, and circular gold sunglasses, pointing finger guns at Amity. I snickered.

“Aw, Edric still calls you mittens? That’s adorable,” I teased. Amity flushed.

“Fuck you,” she said. Edric pouted and crossed his arms.

“Is that how you treat your amazing family?” he asked, “Look, I even brought you the paper you asked for.” He produced a pad of paper from his coat and flung it at his sister. It fluttered through the air and hit her on the head.

“Hah, get fucked,” I said, stretching out on my bed. Amity gave me a withering glare from across the room.

“It’s actually for you. You can make magic out of paper, right?”

“Uh, yes?” I answered. Truth was, I haven’t done it in years. She threw the paper at me this time. I managed to catch it, to everyone’s surprise including my own. I cackled and flipped off Amity. She returned it, then crossed her arms over her chest and ignored me.

“Yo Eddie, you got a pencil?” I called. Edric peered over his glasses.

“Yes, on the one condition you never call me that again,” he said and pulled a pencil out of his jacket. He handed it to me, and I got down to drawing. I made a variety of spells, some large, some small. Drawing out the simple shapes was shockingly cathartic. All I had to do was focus on the lines, and that was enough to keep me engaged. I churned out page after page of spells, losing myself in the simple, repetitive actions.

“Hey come look at this,” Edric said. He peered out the window. Amity hopped out of bed and joined him. I finished the spell I was working on and put the pad down. 

“You have to come see this,” Amity said. I joined them by the window and peered outside. In the middle of the paddock were Emira and Viney, along with Puddles. Emira was cautiously approaching the griffin, who nuzzled her outstretched hand. Viney nodded and helped Emira get on Puddles’ back.

“Hey Mittens, bet you ten snails she gets thrown off,” Edric said. Amity sideyed him. 

“That is the worst bet I have heard in my life.”

Emira was clutching onto the griffin’s back. Puddles slowly started trotting around the paddock, following Viney. They made it halfway around before Puddles halted. Viney snapped her fingers, trying to get the griffin to move forward again. They didn’t listen and instead cocked their head towards the ground. Viney, sensing danger, rushed forward. Puddles was too quick and started galloping away, taking Emira with them. The griffin reared up and flung Emira off. She sailed through the air and hit the ground like a rag doll.

“Oof,” Edric said, lowering his glasses. Amity grimaced. Viney rushed over to the still form laying on the ground and drew a spell circle. Emira sat up, shaking her head.

“Wow,” I leaned back, “That could’ve gone better.” Edric chuckled and glanced at his sister. 

“I believe you owe me ten snails.”

“I believe you should shut the fuck up,” she snapped. Amity got up and went back to her bed, opening her scroll. I picked up my paper and got back to drawing. A few moments later, Edric jumped up in glee.

“They kissed!” he whooped. Amity tumbled out of her bed. I jumped up and ran to the window, jostling Edric so I could get a good view.

They were definitely kissing. Viney held Emira in an awkward embrace, with locked lips and all. Edric held up his scroll and started recording.

“What are you doing?” I asked. He raised his eyebrow.

“Getting blackmail,” he said simply. I glanced at Amity. 

“Just leave them to it,” she said, “It’s insufferable, I know.” 

Edric stuffed his scroll in his pocket and got up. “Hate to ruin the fun, but we have an appointment to get to. Luz, I know today's a pretty big day, so good luck, and Mittens, don’t let your girlfriend die.”

“ _She’s not my girlfriend!”_ Amity yelled.

“Damn,” I said, “You didn’t have to be so quick to say it, though.” She blushed all the way up to her ears and flipped me off.

“Both of you can eat shit,” she said, storming out of the room. Edric let out a deep, hearty laugh.

“Guess I struck a nerve,” he said. I chuckled and leaned against the window.

“So what kinda appointment you got?” I asked. Edric stroked his meager beard and thought for a moment.

“Freelance interviews,” he finally said, “Well Luz, see you around.” He gave a small salute and turned out of the door. I watched him leave, ruminating on what he said. 

“Freelance interviews?” I asked out loud, “What makes an interview ‘freelance’?”

The empty room didn’t provide any answers. 

* * *

Willow arrived around midday. She taxied us back to our respective houses, and promised she would come around later. Eda, understandably, was furious that I had disappeared for an entire night. She was even more agitated once I explained what happened.

“I swear to the Titan itself, if it weren’t for this _goddamn_ curse, I would wipe the floor with that pipsqueak!” she yelled, waving her arms in the air. I sprawled on the couch, trying to listen to her ranting. “And why are you wearing that? You look like a ghost.”

“Oh yeah, I got to go see Viney,” I said.

“Yeah, at her hospital!”

“Well,” I said, “At least I didn’t die?”

Eda facepalmed and went to the kitchen. She came back with a mug filled with apple blood. 

“Kid, after this is over, I’m going to ground you so hard you won’t see the outside of your room until the Skeleton of the fucking Titan rots away,” she slurped her drink and took a deep breath. “Now that I’ve chewed you out sufficiently, what are you gonna do?”

“Uh,” I said, “I don’t think I have any other choice but to go. Evidently if I skip out, Willow’s reputation goes down the drain, and I assume that’s bad, right?”

Eda nodded. “Yeah, that would be pretty bad. I managed to skip out on the whole deal by being a mysterious hermit, but if you're in the thick of it like Willow, street cred means a lot.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” I asked. 

“First off, you can’t go out with that dress. It’s hideous,” Eda replied, “Second, I don’t think you really have a choice.” I grumbled and stood up. Eda gave me a sad smile as I moved past her. Climbing up the stairs to my room was a breeze. My ribs felt fine, and they didn’t twinge with every movement. I swung my arm around a few times, trying to work out any kinks, and opened the door to my bedroom. It was the same as when I left it. I bent over my suitcase, searching for something to wear. I landed on a black t-shirt that I picked up at a concert. Under normal circumstances, the obscene amount of satanic imagery would probably give me a few points for intimidation, but this was the Boiling Isles. Here, Satan sold potatoes.

I returned to the living room. King was curled up on the sofa, snoring gently. I nudged him. The demon raised his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, and hopped up. “Luz!” he exclaimed, “How ya’ doing?” I let out a sigh and sat, trying to calm my nerves. King, either seeking to comfort me or just being plain lazy, crawled into my lap and curled into a ball. I absentmindedly began stroking his back, running my fingers through his fur. Gazing at the mural on the ceiling, the gravity of my situation crushed me.

"I'm scared, King," I choked.

He opened an eye and cocked his head. "Of what?"

My chest felt tight. I took steady breaths, blinking back tears in my eye.

"I don't know," I said, "Of dying, I guess. Everyone thinks I'm gonna die. Willow acts like she has a plan, but I know she’s bluffing. Occasionally, I can see Amity staring at me. She always looks away when I notice, but she does it a lot, and I mean a lot, and I know it's because she knows I'm gonna die."

I took a deep breath, shuddering. King sat up and rubbed my arm.

"I don't think you're gonna die."

I sniffled and picked him up. He protested, but fell still when he saw my tears. I made silent sobs, burying my face into his fur.

"It's going to be ok, Luz. Don't worry."

"I don't want to die. Not yet."

* * *

The sun hung low in the sky when Willow arrived. I walked out to the car, dejectedly accepting my fate. Yesterday, I thought there might be a chance I could die. Now, the crushing prospect of certain death loomed over me.

Amity already took the front seat, so I hopped in the back. She wore a pink-sleeved white crop top with HEXSIDE printed across it. In addition, she had a pleated skirt (also pink), fishnets (as usual) and the Boiling Isles equivalent of Converse All-Stars (guess which color. Just guess).

“So,” I said, breaking the silence, “What’s the plan?”

Willow tapped the steering wheel. Amity stayed quiet. 

“Well,” Willow said, “If everything goes according to plan, we go in through the front entrance, do whatever needs to be done, and then leave.”

“That...doesn’t exactly answer my question,” I said, “What am I supposed to do? Why are we meeting Mattholomule anyway? He nearly killed me, so why are we doing business with him?”

Willow sighed. “We’re ending our business. I’m going independent.”

Amity gasped and dropped her scroll. I tilted my head, confused by her reaction. 

“So is that, like, a big deal or something?”

Willow kept her eyes on the road. “Amity,” she said, “Please explain it to Luz, preferably using simple words.”

Amity leaned back and sighed. “Once you're in a business deal like this with someone, you can’t really just leave.”

“Sort of like a contract,” I muttered.

“I guess, but it’s not actually a contract. It’s just very impolite to cut someone off like this. Since we can’t negotiate out of the deal, we’re going to have to...forcefully remove one of the parties.”

I did the math in my head. “So what your saying is that we’re gonna kill Matt?”

“Not kill,” Amity said, “I mean, maybe if it comes to it, but like...I don’t know.”

“Where even is the meeting, anyways?” I asked.   
  
“Hexside,” they said in unison. That explains Amity’s shirt.

“Sounds like a stupid place to have a drug business,” I muttered. Great, now I’m gonna die at my old high school.

Willow sighed. “Long story short, it’s neutral ground, and that means each party can bring an equal amount of people since no one has a home turf advantage. Since you’re kind of outmatched (no offense) we need as many skilled fighters as possible, hence, Hexside.”

We drive silently for a few moments. Why didn’t anyone tell me these things? First it's “Oh, just survive” and now it’s “Hey Luz, you mind tearing down a cartel?” Good thing I didn’t have plans for tonight. I dropped my head back and stared at the roof of the car. It rumbled away, chauffeuring me to my death.

“Hey, did you ever hear anything about that kid?” I asked. Willow cocked her head.

“What kid?” she said. Amity looked between us and grimaced.

“Viney had someone come in,” she said, “I didn’t want to say anything, but that kid was totally part of a cult.”

“Oh great, you guys have cults too?” 

“They’re actually pretty good customers,” Willow stated. “Occasionally you get the one weird one who demands a blood sacrifice, but for the most part they’re decent.”

I leaned back in my seat. The shadows of trees whipped by our car, creating a blur against the setting sun. It was beautiful. The sun seemed as if it were fighting against the horizon, throwing up every last color it had in reserve. It painted the sky with not only reds and oranges, but greens and purples and shades of blue I’d never seen before. Not bad for what may be my last sunset.

“So I’m assuming the kid was a sacrifice…” I said. Willow shrugged noncommittally.

“They could have just summoned a demon at the wrong time.”

Willow pulled off the road just before Hexside’s courtyard. We walked down the empty plaza, which was illuminated by the light of the dying sun. I patted my pockets, checking that the spells I made were still there. There was a put in my stomach that seemed to drag me down, making each step seem like an eternity.

When we reached the front entrance, Willow nodded at each of us in turn. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and kicked open the door.

“Always have a good entrance,” she muttered as she crossed over the threshold. I followed behind her, with Amity bringing up the rear. The hallway was dim. Pillars and doors dotted the walls, creating gaps between the rows of lockers. At the end of the hallway stood three figures, silhouetted against the windows of the school’s rotunda. Walking towards them took an eternity. Willow was silent. Amity took deep breaths. I fingered my ring.

The middle figure turned towards us. It was Mattholomule, wearing a fur lined parka. The light threw his face into sharp relief. It gave the impression that he was too present, too...physical. His forehead shone with sweat and his breathing was staggered. His eyes, normally dark, were wide open, unblinking, and staring intensely at me.

To his right stood Boscha Two, sporting a dark bruise on her left cheek, and to his left was Goat Man, tapping his foot. They both wore dark tunics over black trousers. Mattholomule grinned, forcing his lips apart in a manic smile. I tried to keep my breathing steady. Their glares bore into me, slowly tearing me down.

“Glad you could join us,” he leered. I glared back, trying not to panic. Willow stepped forward, her spectacles glinting in the moonlight.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have business to do.” 

Mattholomule grinned. His teeth were clenched, hard. 

“Wow, you’re very brisk today. I sure hope what you’re asking is worth it,” he said.

Willow tilted her head. “Deal’s off,” she said.

A vein on Matt’s neck swelled. For a second, I thought he was about to pop.

“What the fuck did you say say to me?” he asked as he stepped forward, getting in Willow’s face. She didn’t flinch. 

“I said, deal’s off,” Willow said, “We both know there was never one in the first place. I’m just trying my best to be polite.” Mattholomule exploded with rage.

“You fat fucking bitch. We have a fucking deal! You can’t FUCKING QUIT!” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. He grasped the collar of Willow’s coat. She was unfazed.

I, on the other hand, saw red. I wanted, no, yearned to rip his head off, to slowly tear him apart molecule by molecule and set anything else that was left on fire. I was vaguely aware of my hand reaching for his neck, thinking only to rip and tear and destroy.

Goat Man slammed into me, holding me back from killing Matt. I swung, my fist meeting nothing but air. Mattholomule breathed through his teeth, making a wet hissing noise. His eyes bulged, contorting his face into an unsettling caricature of a demon. I leaned back, trying to retreat, but Goat Man held me down. His arms were thick, and under the fur were hard, burly muscles. Mattholomule flung off his parka in fury and raised his fist. He wore a sleeveless vest; his arms were covered in power glyphs. His muscles were bulging, struggling to hold together under the intense magic. I braced for impact, knowing it wouldn’t matter. I was well and truly fucked.

A vine rammed into his side, throwing his body across the room. I blinked in surprise. Pink flames flared above my head, and Goat Man released me. I dropped to the floor and crawled away from the action. Spells and shouts flew over me. After retreating to a safe distance, I got to my feet and turned to the fight. Willow pulled vines from the ground using magic. They followed her hands, as if attached by invisible strings, before being released and sailing through the air, headed for Mattholomule. He leaped to the second story balcony, dodging the attacks at an inhuman speed. I had a feeling my dinky little ring wouldn’t do much.

Amity sprinted towards me, flinging clouds of fire at the hostile witches. She grabbed my arm, dragging me down a hallway, screaming at me to run. Goat Man was bearing down on us, with Boscha Two right behind him. We raced through the maze of hallways, trying to lose our pursuers. The twists and turns melted into a blur. I finally gave out when we reached the gym. My ribs were screaming in pain, stretched and sore from my heavy breathing, and my legs felt like jelly. I leaned on the door, lightly pushing it open. Amity frantically shook her head and dragged me into a room across the hall.

It was a locker room. Since I never took any physical education courses at Hexside (which was kind of a shame, because they could probably give you an instant six pack), there wasn’t really a point for me to go in here. It seemed locker room-y enough. There was a low ceiling with stains, a slightly sticky floor, and the ubiquitous sock-and-rotten-sandwich smell. Amity leaned against a locker, panting. Her shirt was soaked with sweat. I wasn’t doing much better. I bent over, clutching the stitch in my side, and tried to catch my breath. 

“This should give us some time,” Amity gasped, “I doubt they’ll look for two girls in the boy’s locker room.” I nodded. _So this was the boy’s locker room. That explained the stains._

“What’s with the skirt?” I gasped.

“What about it?”

“Like why would you go fight someone,” I tried to inhale, “With a skirt? Seems kinda...impractical...”

“It matches my outfit. Why else?” she answered. I chuckled and readjusted my beanie.

“Never change, Blight,” I said. After steadying my breath, I stood up and explored the maze of lockers. A separate room with showers was at the back. Near its entrance was a closet. Curious, I wrenched open the door and peered inside. It was full of sports equipment and other junk. Assorted balls sat stacked on the shelves and jerseys were thrown haphazardly in a musty pile. Something in the corner caught my eye.

“Since when did you guys have baseball bats?” I asked, pulling a red lacquered bat from the closet. Amity came over.

“Principal Bump had this crazy idea that our school should try it out. It died pretty fast,” she said, “He would probably be glad if you took it.”

“Sweet, free bat,” I said and slammed the door. It looked like a child’s drawing, assuming the child had never seen a baseball bat. It was thick and blocky, with enough weight at the tip to insinuate it could deliver a devastating blow, while still remaining decently balanced. I held it up, pantomiming a few swings. Amity huffed at me in exasperation.

A thump came from the hallway. Amity produced a fireball as I hefted the bat up. I inched towards the door, ready to swing.

“It’s me,” said Willow’s voice. I sighed, lowering my weapon. Wait. If Willow was shorter than me, then why was the voice coming from above my head?

The door creaked open. I raised the bat. Goat Man leaped out in a blur of black and white. I swung. It crashed against his head with a satisfying crack. His momentum carried him forward, and he collided with the lockers.

“Amity, run!” I yelled, and dashed out the door, assuming she was right behind me. I ran through hallway after hallway, trying to find my way back to Willow, unaware I was alone. The rotunda was empty, save for some rubble and limp vines. The silence was deafening. Then, the only thing I could hear were Amity’s screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I try to make huevos Fritos I always end up having to dodge the oil that it pops back at me so I end up never making them even though it’s like, one of the best ways to have eggs
> 
> I hope yall are having a good weekend, evidently it's the super bowl and I have ZERO idea of who's playing but I know damn well I’m about to bake my annual rolled up and deep fried pepperoni pizza for this bitch (I just looked it up and it's the buccaneers vs the chiefs, and since I have no idea who either of those are, I'm going with buccaneers bc boat rot dropped)


	9. The Meeting Pt.2: Halls of Hexside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, Amity chapter

My screams did not sound like that. These fakes were too high. They reverberated across the halls, bouncing off the walls, taunting me. Mine were deeper, originating from my chest. You had more stamina that way. Obviously, someone was mimicking me. And that meant there was a bard in this school.

Personally, my bet was on the tall goat. He seemed like a good baritone.

“HELP ME LUZ!” I, no, my voice screamed. I was a little disappointed in the bard. I made a point to specifically call her Noceda. The imitator was good, but obviously not good enough to fool me. But, I realized, they weren’t trying to fool me. They were trying to fool Lu-Noceda. They were trying to fool Noceda and she might actually fall for it.

“I’m coming, Amity!” she yelled. Just when I thought she had a chance, she dives back into trouble. Typical. I stalked the halls of Hexside, making my way towards Luz’s voice. Noceda’s voice. Whatever. It sounded like she was in the atrium.

“Noceda!” I yelled, “Don’t listen to him!”

“What the fuck?” she yelled.

“Luz, please help,” my voice began sobbing. Now this was downright insulting. I learned how to cry silently when I was a child. If Noceda fell for that, her death might as well be fated and I should just give up.

Who am I kidding, there’s no way I could make myself let her go again.

“It’s trying to lure you down there. Don’t go towards the voice,” I yelled, “Do you hear me? DON’T. GO. TOWARDS. THE. VOICE.”

I started running, hoping to reach her before the idiot went off somewhere else.

“Ok, ok,” the human said, “How do I know that _you’re_ not the fake one and that you’re trying to distract me from the real Amity, who actually is in trouble?” I halted, processing that information. She did have a point. The imposter’s sobbing cut off for a moment. 

“Wait, I’ve got it. Hear me out here: I’m going to ignore both of you,” Noceda exclaimed. 

“Holy shit she’s so fucking stupid,” I muttered. It was occasionally...endearing, for lack of a better word, but this wasn’t the time. 

“Here’s the thing: if both of your voices are coming from different hallways, then that means that Matt’s group is split in two,” she continued, “Worst case scenario, Willow got beaten, and Amity is in a two on one right now with Matt and one of his cronies. In that case, I’m fucked, so the next best option is to assume Willow is still up and fighting Matt, which means that Amity is fighting one person, which she could totally win because she’s amazing, and I should avoid getting into a fight.”

I stopped for a second, trying to ignore how Noceda just called me amazing without prior warning and focus on her reasoning. It...was insane, but it also had some weird logic behind it. You couldn’t make a wrong decision if you never made a decision at all, right?

“PLEASE, LUZ, HELP ME!” my voice begged. 

“Just shut up already!” I yelled back, “It’s annoying!”

My voice started sobbing again. I sighed and jogged down the halls. Finally, I made it to the atrium. I scanned the room, checking the balconies for any threats before stepping out from behind the pillars. Noceda was walking down a hallway to my right, swinging her bat back and forth.

“Noceda, get over here,” I said. She covered her ears and kept walking.

“La la la _laaaaa_ I’m not listening to youuuu,” she said. I sighed in exasperation and ran over. 

“I wish I could rip out your guts.”

“That’s cute and all, but I’m not listening.” 

I seized her shoulder and wheeled her around. Noceda stared at me blankly for a second, then rushed forward and pulled me into a bear hug. Her embrace crushed my ribs and sent a shiver up my spine.

“I thought I made the wrong choice,” she whispered. Heat rose from behind my ears as I peered over her shoulder; a hulking figure filled the entrance of the hallway.

“Noceda, get off of me,” I said. 

“Sorry,” she said, and let me free. She put her hands on my shoulder, looked into my eyes, and said, “Look, I know I can be a dick sometimes, but-“

“NOCEDA YOU FUCKING IDIOT LOOK BEHIND YOU!” I yelled, shaking off her hands and starting a spell circle. She spun around. The enemy witch, the one that happened to look like a goat, was too close. Noceda, for some reason, whether it was nerves or inexperience, lifted up her bat instead of retreating. I felt time slow down, the action playing out before me. The goat would be too close, within the bat’s effective range. I couldn’t finish the spell in time. She was wide open, guard down.

To my surprise, she let go of the bat mid swing. It’s momentum carried it up and it hung in the air for a split second before the bodyguard instinctively tried to catch it. He fumbled as Noceda stepped forward, leaning in with her shoulder, and suckerpunched him in the face. His head jerked back, followed by the rest of his body. It all took under a second, and it was the bravest thing I’ve seen in my life. 

Her face contorted in pain and she flapped her hand. “Fuck, that hurt,” she muttered. I stared at her in awe.

“Did...did you just punch him?” 

“No,” she said, rolling her eyes, “I gave him a kiss goodnight and tucked him into bed. Wasn't it obvious?” 

The enemy witch stood up and huffed. He wiped the blood off his nose and brayed.

“God damn it,” Noceda said. Her bat was still on the ground, and her hand seemed injured. I pushed past the human, putting myself between her and the enemy. 

“Get your bat,” I said, “I’ll take him.”

I took a deep breath, feeling my blood and bile reach my fingertips. My opponent brayed and lowered his head. I dashed forwards, shooting a pillar of fire in his direction. He sidestepped and let out an ear splitting bleat. The shockwave dragged me back and I slammed into the lockers. 

I sank, sliding down the wall. My ears were ringing, and pain screamed in my shoulder. Even though it felt like my limbs were moving through syrup, I forced myself up and lunged. A fireball burst from my fingers, hitting him in the abdomen. He stumbled back, doubled over. I pushed my advantage, slicing arcs of fire towards the witch. His arms shot out and deflected both my attacks, sending them into the lockers. However, his forearms were singed and sizzling.

“Getting tired yet?” I taunted. He glared back with his single eye, but grinned unnaturally wide. I faltered. The smile grew wider and wider as his jaw unhinged, revealing two long, purple tongues and rows of flat pearly teeth.

“ _Oh, dear,”_ my mother’s voice cooed, “ _What have you been up to?”_ He stepped forward. “ _Fighting somebody else's battles? Working for that Park girl?”_ The tongues danced along with the voice. “ _You’re a disgrace, Amity. An embarrassment to the House of Blight.”_

My breath caught in my throat. No. No. No no no _no_ NO. I haven’t heard her voice since...the fire. “Shut the fuck up,” I whispered. My ears laid flat against my head. Goosebumps ran down my arms. A pit in my stomach dropped, dragging me with it. “You’re not real,” I cried, “ _You’re dead!”_

“ _Just look at you. Wearing poor, trashy clothes unfit for a Blight, working for someone below your station, and fraternising with a human? I EXPECTED BETTER FROM YOU!”_ she screamed. I sank to my knees, shaking. 

“I’m sorry, mother,” I whimpered, “I won't do it again.” The goat strutted towards me and casually produced a knife from his tunic. I lay on the floor, paralyzed by the voice. He came closer, tongues flicking back and forth, dancing like snakes.

“ _I raised you, I gave everything to you, and this is how you repay me? With insolence?”_ she said, “ _Amity, you’re breaking my heart.”_

I sobbed and curled into a ball, pulling my knees close so nobody could see me cry. I looked up at my attacker. Through my tears, I could see his form come closer. I didn't want to run. I just wanted it to end. 

At the end of the hall, Noceda turned the corner. Her hair was a mess and her beanie sat askew. She raised her bat and charged.

“ _LUZ-CHOP, BITCH!”_ she yelled, and swung. It smacked the goat in the back of the head, jerking him forward. He collapsed in a heap. The knife fell and clattered to the floor. She brought down the bat a second time, then a third, yelling and beating the body senseless before finally stepping back. 

“I had to make sure,” she said, swallowing. Her chest rose and fell as sweat shone on her forehead. The moon had risen, and it encircled her in a halo of light that gave her the impression of the goddess of the moon. Some small part of my mind whispered to me, drawing out old memories and emotions I had beaten down long ago. I couldn’t help but think, in that moment, she was beautiful.

Her eyes met mine. I looked away. She walked over and sat down next to me on the floor, legs crossed, and waited in silence. I slowly uncurled myself. “How ya doing?” she asked. I sighed and pushed my hair back. 

“Fine,” I said, “I’m fine. What...what took you so long?”

She leaned back on her hands, struggling to catch her breath. “I- flanking maneuver,” she panted, gesturing vaguely to the hall.

“Oh...ok,” I muttered, “We should go…”

The human raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She stood up and fixed her hair, leaning her bat against her leg as I rolled into a sitting position.

I was still exhausted and dizzy from the attack. “Can you help me up?” I asked. Noceda grinned, and outstretched her arm.

“Ok, _mamacita,”_ she said, and I took her hand. She leaned back, pulling me on to my feet and I stood up, almost face to face with the human girl.

“I’m not answering that,” I mumbled as the exhaustion of standing up hit me. I fell forward, collapsing into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around me, gently stroking my back. It sent waves of pleasure down my spine and, once again, I felt my meticulously cultivated walls crumbling away, letting emotions spill over. My tears soaked into the fabric of her clothes and I sniffled, embracing the comfort while it lasted.

“Please don’t tell me you’re wiping your boogers on my jacket,” she said. I couldn’t help but laugh. She chuckled too, the pleasant noise coming from deep within her chest.

“I loathe you, Noceda,” I said, wiping away the last of my tears.

“Aw, I loathe you too,” she smiled, sending a sickening warmth into my stomach. I knew that feeling well, but this wasn’t the time. I could sort through these feelings later. Right now I had a job to do.

I swallowed and pulled back. “We should probably see what Willow’s up too,” I said, stepping over the beaten body on the ground, “Come on.”

We walked through the atrium, sticking by the pillars that ringed the room. Resounding crashes could be heard through the walls, shaking the floor and riling up the lockers. The pounding subsided, then re emerged even stronger. 

We turned a corner, nearly running face first into the pink-skinned witch. We froze. Her eyes widened in shock. I recovered first, producing a flame in my hand. She reeled backward, sprinting down the hall. I started to chase after her, but Noceda grabbed my shoulder.

“It’s a dead end,” she said, shaking her head, “I had a class there once.” The second bodyguard skidded to a halt at the end of the hall and turned around.

“Hello!” Luz called, waving her bat. The witch paled. Out of options, she prepared for a fight, drawing a spell circle. A large crash shook the school, throwing me off balance. My fireball fizzled out as I stumbled into Luz. The noises kept growing louder.

The enemy witch looked between us. Her spell had been interrupted as well. Unlike me, she didn’t produce another. If I was in her position, I would have attacked. There was no reason to wait.

I was instantly proven wrong as the wall to my right exploded outward and Mattholomule burst through in a cloud of stones and dust. He snarled and turned towards the hole he made. Willow, supported by a web of vines, came crawling out. She rose, floating above the ground and towering over her opposition. There was a large scrape above her eyebrow, and she was breathing heavily, but besides that she looked fine. Mattholomule, on the other hand, was covered in thorns and scratches. Blood dripped from his body, mixing with sweat and dirt before draining down to the ground. 

“Well isn't this a treat,” he grinned, gesturing to the people around him. He turned to the witch at the end of the hall. “Nice to see you’re still alive. I never did have much hope for that other guy. Seemed a bit like a pushover.” Her face darkened with anger but she stayed silent. Mattholomule turned to us. “Oh, ew, you survived too?”

Noceda raised an eyebrow. “Bold of you to assume I can die,” she said. Mattholomule smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to check!” he growled and lunged at her. He flew through the air, arms outstretched. Noceda swung her bat wildly and clipped him on the side of his head. He tumbled to the side and crashed into the lockers. 

Willow launched herself into the air after Mattholomule. She hit the ground and rolled, coming up into a fighting stance. The vines wrapped around her limbs, creating an exoskeleton that protected her from attacks and formed something similar to a harness.

“Go deal with the other one. I can do another round with this clown,” she said over her shoulder. With a flick of her wrist, a vine snagged Mattholomule by the ankle.

He snarled and dropped into a squat, digging himself into the floor of the school. A flower blossomed from his ankle before turning into a fruit that exploded in a cloud of noxious yellow gas.

We forgot to pay attention to the other enemy. It was Noceda who noticed the army of abominations first. They crept down the hall, leaving trails of slime on the floor. Two of them had gotten stuck together, marching forward like a pair of conjoined twins. On an individual level, they were sloppy. However, there were at least a dozen of them, with no cauldron in sight. I had to give her some credit for that. Summoning abominations from nothing took skill.

She nudged me. “I‘ll take right.”

“What?”

“I said ‘I’ll take right’, what part of that didn’t you understand?”

“How are you going to fight an army of abominations?”

Noceda grinned. 

“Bat.”

She strolled forward and whacked the head off the first abomination. Pushing ahead, she attacked any angle she could get, whirling the baseball bat in a figure eight. Occasionally, it would get a solid hit and cripple or kill an abomination, but most of the time it just scraped a chunk off the surface, leaving superficial damage . The abominations gradually closed in around her, creating an impenetrable ring.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered. I cast spells into the fray. Fireballs embedded themselves inside the abominations, exploding and sending chunks of goo into the air. Noceda was still fighting, albeit knee deep in the moist corpse of an abomination. 

The enemy witch ran forward. She produced a shaft of ice in her hands and cast it at me. Me, the witch with fucking fire magic. I vaporised the projectile with a hiss of steam and prepared another flame. However, in the time it took for me to mitigate her attack, she threw up a wall of hardened abomination sludge.

By now I was about even with Noceda, who was extricating herself from the mess. “Noceda!” I yelled, “Can you knock down that wall?” She was still stuck in the goo.

“Uh, no?” she said, “I mean unless you can bring it towards me.”

I sighed. _Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way_. Making sure Noceda was well behind me, I sent a blast of fire through the hallway. It ballooned, filling the space up with beautiful magenta light. The smoke cleared, revealing smoking abomination sludge and a hard, blackened wall.

The burnt barrier crumbled. No one was behind it. The dead end-ness of the hallway seemed very obvious now. I turned to my human...friend. She had managed to get one leg out, and was too busy working on the other one to notice the abomination witch standing at the other end of the hall. She swished her bob and walked away.

More abominations poured out from the lockers. The mess on the floor solidified, melding into newer, more solid _,_ creations. That bitch led us into a trap, and I just wasted a majority of my power tearing down the wall. The end of the hallway wasn’t an option; the classrooms at Hexside usually had a single door, so we would only be prolonging the inevitable if we went in one. That left the giant hole in the wall as our only chance at escape.

“Time to go!” I yelled, running towards Noceda. She looked up, finally realizing the situation we were in.

“ _Ay_ _mierda,”_ she said. I grabbed her arm and dragged the dumbass through the hole. The classroom shrouded us in darkness. On the other side was yet another hole, this one slightly smaller. It led into another classroom that provided an unplanned entrance to the atrium in the form of a third hole in the wall.

“Come on, you oaf,” I said, dragging her behind me. As I was leading the way through to the atrium, Noceda pulled off and dragged me into the corner.

“What are you-?”

“Get down,” she said. The human dragged me behind a desk and forced me under it.

“Wha-” she covered my mouth with her free hand and squeezed in next to me.

“Shut up!” Noceda whispered, and jerked her thumb to the abomination that followed us. Several more came in behind it and they milled around the room, bumping into upturned desks and chairs. Once she was sure I got the message, Noceda removed her hand from my mouth.

We stayed still, bodies pressed against each other, hiding under the desk. I could feel her warmth through her jacket. The moaning of the abominations grew louder. She reached out from under the desk and ran her hand along the surface.

“What are you doing?” I asked. She shook her head, telling me to shush. Her brow furrowed in concentration and her arm bent at an awkward angle. Noceda’s eyes widened and she broke into a grin. Silently, she pulled a pencil off the top of the desk and held it up.

"What are we going to do with a pencil?" I asked. She frantically tried to get me to shut up. I complied, curious to see why she wanted a glorified stick. The human slowly rose, and with a light grunt, threw the pencil across the room. It clattered across the stone floors. To be honest, I expected something more creative.

At once, the abominations turned their heads towards it, following the noise. After they had all left the room, we ran out, jumping into the next classroom. The hole in the next wall was a lot smaller. Noceda practically dived through it, but stopped and helped me over the jagged pieces of metal and stone.

The atrium seemed empty. For a few peaceful seconds, it was quiet. It might have been serene under a different context; the discarded vines were beginning to flower, giving the environment the impression of a garden. Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the blossoms. The effect was shattered by Mattholomule’s screaming.

His body dropped and slammed into the ground. Groaning, cursing, and yelling all at once, he picked himself up and tore a chunk out of the floor. Willow followed, shooting vines from her arms. Mattholomule spun in a circle and let go. Willow dodged, but it caught one of the vines that supported her. The tower of plants began to collapse as Willow desperately tried to hold it together. 

A wall of abominations turned the corner, followed by their creator. Thinking as one, Noceda and I rushed out into the hall and began fighting. Together, we carved out a path through the army of abominations. Thankfully they weren’t up to my standard, or we would all be dead.

Willow and Matt engaged in what would only be described as hand-to-hand combat, even though Willow’s vines did most of the work. Mattholomule pushed towards her and with every step became more and more ensnared in the plants. He was almost within arms reach when Willow’s eyes glowed green.

“Oh shit, here we go again,” I muttered. There was no time to warn Noceda, so I unceremoniously kicked her in the back of the knees. She folded up and dropped to the floor. I dived down, nearly landing on top of her.

“What the fuck!” she yelled in my ear before being silenced by the sound of vines exploding from the ground. When the thundering subsided, I looked up. Mattholomule had been thrown clear across the atrium, landing in the hallway where we left the goat witch, who was notably absent. The other bodyguard was laid out on the floor, dazed. Most of her abominations were either cut in half or completely destroyed.

Noceda groaned and got to her feet. I picked myself up as well and scanned the room. One one side, Willow stood swaying in the center of the room. On the other, the abomination witch has recovered and threw up a small pack of abominations. They lumbered forward, eating up the distance between me and them.

Willow was still dazed from her outburst. “You ready?” I asked. Noceda groaned next to me.

“Yeah, let’s...let’s go,” she sighed, “Man, I’m tired.” She had her hands on her knees and panted heavily. Hopefully, Mattholomule wouldn’t rear his ugly head for a while. I produced a fireball. It flickered at first, shooting sparks out of my hand, before burning steadier. My bile sac was running low.

The enemy created more abominations. I threw my fireball. The aim was off, and it burst prematurely, taking one out and damaging the other. Two more instantly replaced them. To my annoyance, Noceda had disappeared, leaving me to deal with the immediate threat. 

Willow joined my side.

“You think you can take them?” she asked.

“No,” I admitted, “But I think Noceda has a plan.”

Willow looked around. “Where is she, anyway?”

I shrugged. “Look, don’t question it. She probably has something up her sleeve.” The first of the abominations were approaching us. _You dumbass, please tell me you actually have a plan,_ I thought. Willow drew a vine out from under her raincoat. It strangled the abomination, shearing off its head. Her arms dropped as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.

“Wonderful,” I said, turning toward the rest of the abominations. Their moans filled my ears, blocking anything else out. I set my hand aflame and drove my fist through the first one, feeling it's wet mush wrap around my hand before it collapsed. The next to cross me met a similar fate. I kept swinging, trying to take down as many as I could.

Something cold and wet slid down my back. I tried to leap forward, but it stuck like glue. The abomination dragged me back as its friends surrounded me. One of them reached out and gripped my hand, smothering the flames. I kicked and screamed in a desperate last ditch attempt to drive them back.

The cool, moist abomination sludge enveloped me. It submerged my legs and pinned down my arms. I was dragged to the floor, covered in the purple slime. It flooded over my waist and climbed into my mouth. I choked as it forced its way down my throat in an effort to suffocate me.

There was no other option. I had to admit a horrible, ugly truth to myself: this was my element, and I should stop pretending to play with fire.

I gave it my all. Every sleepless night poring over books, every time I skipped eating so I could fit in one more page of homework, every once of my fucking life I put into studying abomination magic so I could be worth something one day, paid off in full. 

I shot up, flinging chunks of abomination sludge off my body and expelling it from my throat. It floated around me in rings, hovering perfectly still. I threw out my arms, calling the other abominations to me. They turned at once, free from their creator’s grasp and forced into mine. 

The witch’s jaw dropped. She was good, I admit, but I was a motherfucking prodigy. The matter around me hardened into spikes. I cast them, followed by the army of abominations she had created for me. They surged forward, making a beeline for the enemy. 

She retreated, sprinting away and towards the entrance hall. My grip on the abominations was weakening the farther away they moved, but they were right on her heels. She dived through the door, barely dodging the outstretched hands of the abominations.

I relaxed, releasing my grip on anything abomination related. Hopefully for the last time.

I turned to Willow. She sat up, looking around her. “What...where did they go?”

“I took care of it,” I muttered. Willow understood and said nothing more. I gazed at the blossoming vines and realized something that threw a wet blanket over my victory. Noceda hadn’t said anything stupid yet. 

“Where’s Noceda?” I asked, turning to Willow. She blinked, then scrambled to her feet. She grasped my shoulder, shaking me back and forth in alarm.

“Where’s Mattholomule?!” she yelled in return. Her observation sent a cold wave of fear through me. We stared at each other, connecting the dots. In the ensuing silence, I could hear the faint sound of choking coming from the second story.

I ran blindly, searching for stairs or anything that could get me to the next floor. Willow’s vine snagged me around the waist, stopping me in my search for the dumbass human.

“What are you do-?!” I yelled before Willow yanked me into the air. For a moment I was weightless as she deposited me on the balcony. In a hurry, I ran to the hall where the noises came from.

Mattholomule stood with his hands wrapped around Noceda’s neck. She was pinned to the wall, desperately trying to pry them off. His eyes were full of fury. Her’s held nothing but fear. He glanced at me and squeezed harder. Something snapped in my chest as I produced another fireball. It was messy, a shameful example of a true fire spell. But it could still burn his skin off his body, could still roast his flesh, and it could still leave him a pathetic charred corpse.

I ran forward and shoved it in his face. He jerked away from the flames, letting go of Noceda. She dropped to the ground, clutching her neck. Mattholomule’s eyes widened in fear, then narrowed into a determined stare. He turned and ran.

I knelt down next to Noceda, reaching out to the shaking figure on the ground. “Hey, it’s going to be ok,” I assured. She batted my hand away and scrambled back, eyes wild. 

“Get away from me!” she screamed. Her hand was still protecting her neck and her breathing was quick and ragged.

“Amity, _GO!”_ Willow yelled, “I can help Luz!” 

Mattholomule. I had to kill Mattholomule. It wasn’t a decision made out of rage or fear. It was a simple fact. He had to die. And I had to do it.

I stood up. Noceda stared back, unspeaking and still in a defensive stance. It broke my heart seeing her like that. Not once in my life, not even when we dueled or when I tried to have her dissected or when I threatened to light her on fucking fire, was she ever honestly afraid of me. But this, whatever it was, sent her scrambling back like a cornered animal.

I couldn’t take any more. I turned and ran, shaking the tears from my eyes. Mattholomule was injured from his fight with Willow. He couldn’t have gone far. I followed the tail of blood down the hall and into a classroom. Through the darkness, I found him slumped against the teacher’s podium.

“So this is it?” he said.

“Yeah,” I smiled, “It is.”

He grinned. Shaking, he lifted his arm and drew one last spell circle. 

“Get fucked,” he spluttered, spitting blood over the floor. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the air rippled around him, expanding like a bubble. It lightly pushed me back a few inches, but otherwise was ineffective.

“What was that supposed to be? A gust of w-” The contents of my stomach shot up my throat and spewed onto the floor. Mattholomule cackled as I lay there, retching my breakfast out onto the ground. I could see bits of scrambled eggs and bacon floating in the bile.

“That never gets old,” he chuckled, “Now, I think it’s time to go.” He dragged himself up the podium, and staggered to the wall. He wrenched open a locker, tearing apart its mouth, and punched a hole through the exterior wall. With one last smirk, he leapt out. I stumbled over to the opening and watched his figure run for the trees.

“That bastard,” I muttered. He escaped. There was nothing I could do for now. I walked back into the hallways, my vision tilting out of tune with my swaying. Willow knelt by Noceda, who seemed much more lucid now. She gave a weak smile when she saw me and spoke up.

“You’ve got something on your shirt,” she said. 

“Thanks, I never would have noticed.”

Willow looked up and grimaced. “What happened to you?” she asked. 

“It can’t be that bad, right?” I said. Willow and Noceda glanced at each other and nodded. I sighed. “Matt escaped. He hit me with some sort of vomiting spell.”

Noceda winced in pain. Her eyes were unblinking and she seemed to be staring intensely at the lockers. “You take it easy,” Willow told her. I sat down next to my friends, ignoring the gurgling in my stomach. 

“So did we win?” Noceda asked. She slouched against the wall, arms limp on the floor. Willow started counting on her fingers.

“Well, you guys got the goat dude, Amity got the abomination chick, and Matt just ran away. So I guess we won, yeah.”

Noceda weakly pumped her fists. “Woo,” she said, “So what do we do now? I have a feeling sticking around wouldn’t be a good idea.” We gazed upon the wreckage. Vines, abomination goop, and debris covered the atrium, not to mention the giant hole on the first floor. 

“Yeah I’ll deal with it,” Willow said, “You guys take the car. I can find my way home.”

I nodded. My stomach rumbled. It felt like it was being twisted up and squeezed. 

“Give me a second,” I said, and ran to the balcony. I barfed over the edge, tickled by the vomit pouring over my lips, and watched it splatter on the ground below. Noceda joined me and leaned over the railing.

“Nasty,” she said. Even though my throat was burning from the stomach acid and I felt like shit, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?” 

“Yeah, you hardly ever shut up about it,” she chuckled. “Hey, can I drive? Since, you’re, you know…”

I looked up at her. Besides her neck, Noceda seemed to have come out mostly unscathed. Funny, because I thought she was going to die. Her survival complicated things, but personally, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Yeah, you can drive,” I muttered, and leaned over the edge again, preparing for another round of vomiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How much foreshadowing can I put in one chapter, you ask? Yes.  
> Anyways, I completely didn't realize that I might accidentally post a chapter near valentines and therefore did not write a fluffy valentines themed chapter. I'm sorry guys, I promise to make it up to yall.  
> Also my birthday's in a few days so poggers I guess.


	10. Loverman

I rested my head against the cool metal of the lockers. Waves crashed against my ears, pulling out old memories with their roars. Willow knelt by my side, trying her best to calm me down. After all these years, I still felt the ghost of his hands around my neck.

“You wanna talk about it?” Willow asked. I silently shook my head. She nodded in understanding and leaned back, gazing around the hallway. The roaring in my head persisted, and it drained my energy, leaving me a weak and empty husk. I attempted to take deep and steady breaths, but they came out ragged and broken.

“Well, I gotta give you credit,” Willow said, “That was a pretty spicy panic attack.” Her words made me giggle and exhale, releasing the breath that got stuck in there. From down the hallway, Amity turned the corner and made her way to us. As she came closer, I noticed her crop top was covered in a splotch of vomit.

“You’ve got something on your shirt,” I said. 

“Thanks, I never would have noticed,” Amity replied and huffed.

Willow looked up at the green-haired (and now green shirted, hah) witch and grimaced. “What happened to you?” she asked. I didn’t hear Amity’s answer. The depths dragged me back under as the buzzing waves returned, shrouding my hearing and tunneling my vision.

“So did we win?” I muttered, eyes unfocused on the locker. The air around them bent, almost distorting my vision. I felt the neverending roar of the waves redouble and block out the voices. They buffeted me, throwing my limp body back and forth in the waters of my mind, soaking my bones in the froth and rising to my neck, leaving me gasping for air.

“...so I guess we won, yeah.” 

My gaze broke. Willow had her fingers out for some reason and Amity stood silently with her hands on her hips. Not knowing what else to do, I pumped my fist in the air.

“Woo. What do we do now?” I asked, “I have a feeling sticking around wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Yeah, I’ll deal with it,” Willow said, “You guys take the car. I can find my way home.”

Amity nodded solemnly. Her face screwed up in pain and she clutched her stomach. I stood up, ready to help her, but she ran past me in a hurry to the balcony and leaned over the edge. The sounds of her throw up hitting the ground echoed across the empty school. I walked over and stood next to her, leaning over the railing and peering at Amity’s vomit, which made a chunky splatter on the floor.

“Nasty,” I said. Amity let out a light groan.

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?” 

“Yes, actually, you hardly ever shut up about it,” I chuckled. The roaring still wouldn’t go away. I needed some way to destress, something to focus on that wasn’t that hard, but still engaging enough to distract me from the white noise. “Hey, can I drive? Since, you’re, you know…” I asked.

Amity glanced up at me. Her amber eyes were slightly unfocused.

“Yeah, you can drive,” she muttered, and leaned over the edge again.

Once she had finished her next round of vomiting, we bid our goodbyes to Willow, who stayed behind to clear up some of the damage, and walked out onto the front plaza. The car was where we left it, partially hidden in the trees. I hopped in and turned the ignition. Nothing happened.

“Well fuck,” I said, “What do we do now?”

“Press the gas pedal and turn,” Amity said, getting into the passenger seat. She clutched her stomach and her face was pale. I tried her advice and, much to my annoyance, it worked. From what little I knew about engines, there was no way that should be possible. I was too tired to care.

Pulling out of the trees, I hit the gas and let the acceleration push me back into the seat. The engine roared, louder and louder, gradually overtaking the sounds in my mind. I breathed in the sweet smell of speed and freedom.

“NOCEDA SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!” Amity yelled. She clutched the handle above the window as her face went from standard _gringa blanca_ to bone white. I complied, for no other reason than she was sick, and the roaring returned.

“Hey, can you plug in my phone?” I asked, “Preferably without puking on it?” Amity glared at me but nodded. Fumbling around a bit, she found the right socket and plugged the cable in. She handed it back to me, under one condition:

“Keep the volume down.”

I sighed and put my “quiet” playlist on shuffle. The opening chords of Mr. Loverman strummed through the speakers. “Hey!” I exclaimed, “I love this song!”

Amity muttered a quiet “oh no” as I began belting out the lyrics.

_I’m headed straight for the floor_

_The alcohol has served its tourrrrr_

_And it’s headed straight for my skin_

_Leaving me DAFT and DIMMM_

I inhaled, leaning back in my seat. Amity groaned. I took my eyes off the road to check on the witch. She somehow grew even paler and sweat shone on her forehead. Strands of mint hair stuck to the sides of her face. She heaved, spitting up a little more vomit. “Amity, you good?” I asked. She nodded, leaning back in her seat. The car speakers continued on without me.

_I’ve got this shake in my legs_

_Shaking the thoughts from my head_

_But who put these waves in the door?_

_I crack, and out I pour_

Amity jerked, startling me. She broke into a coughing fit as blood poured out of her mouth. I stared at her in surprise, frozen in time. She collapsed in her seat, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

_I’m Mr. Loverman_

She lurched forward again and puked all over the dash.

_And I miss my lover, man_

It was thick, red, and chunky.

_I’m Mr. Loverman_

She vomited again, spewing waves of blood and flesh across the windshield.

_Oh, and I miss my lover..._

My world rocked as if I got hit by a tidal wave of emotions, flinging my body into the air and into a storm that spun my head in circles until I couldn’t know where the ground was, but through it all I still saw Amity Blight. She sat limp in her chair, eyes closed. Strings of viscera hung out of her mouth. The car shook, or maybe it was me. The chords of the song reverberated against my ears, hiding the wet noises that came from Amity’s chest.

I tried to remember what my mother taught me when I learned to drive. _Stay calm, don't crash the car. A crash will make everything worse_. I kept my eyes on the road, forcing myself not to glance at the girl next to me. Something moist hit my hand as Amity retched again, churning my stomach as well. It’s presence filled my mind with images of gore and ground meat.

_Pull over at the first opportunity._ We were surrounded by woods. I could pull over anywhere I damn well wanted. I jerked the car to the side of the road and scrambled out. 

Crashing through the foliage, I sprinted to Amity’s door and wrenched it open as she coughed up more blood. Her front was stained red, and her eyes were misty and vacant. Looping my arms around the witch’s chest, I dragged her out of the car, trying my best to ignore the smears of blood on the inside of my forearms.

In the darkness, I accidentally placed my hand in some of the vomit. Bits of tissue slid past my fingers and sent bile shooting up my throat. I swallowed it, forcing the fluids back down. We didn’t need someone else throwing up.

I held her pathetically light body in my lap and searched through my jacket pockets, grabbing spell after spell, searching for the one I needed. The discarded papers covered the forest floor like confetti. Finally, I pulled out the right one and tapped it. The glyph collapsed upon itself and grew brighter, turning into a ball of light that floated above my head and illuminated the scene around us. 

Light glistened off of Amity’s...insides…

Her amber eyes, usually half lidded and full of sarcasm and mirth, were wide open and filled with fear. I looked away, holding back tears. I couldn’t take this. I was going to break. My chest ached as I pulled out my scroll.

“Willow,” I said, my voice strained, “Something happened.”

“What is it?” the voice on the scroll replied.

“It’s-it’s Amity,” I broke down sobbing, “She’s throwing up blood and...other stuff.”

Willow was silent. “I’ll be over there soon. Try to keep her alive.” She hung up.

I wanted to scream. It was me who was supposed to die. Not her. I was the one who didn’t have a future. Amity still had the rest of her life ahead of her. I just came here to escape like a fucking coward because I couldn’t handle the world I was born in. Amity retched again, spluttering up more of her guts. Blood poured over her chest, dripping down her sides, and drained into the ground.

I cradled her head, trying to make her comfortable as she wasted away in front of me. There was nothing I could do to save her, and it filled me with rage. No matter what, no matter how much I fought and kicked and screamed, I still couldn’t get a happy ending.

“It’s gonna be alright,” I lied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

A single tear fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheek. She heaved one final time, her body convulsing under me and pouring out chunks of flesh and viscous blood.

“Let’s go shopping next week,” I said, still stroking her hair, “No potatoes this time.” I forced a smile, trying to will my lies into a reality.

The coughing subsided, possibly because there was nothing left to regurgitate. Amity smiled sadly. She reached up, wiped the tears from my face, and cupped her hand around my cheek. I leaned into it, letting it’s cool comfort soak into my face. Amity gave a final heave, a trickle of blood leaking out the corner of her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Luz.” 

She went limp in my arms. 

I screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that marks the start of our first hiatus. I’m sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger like this, but I never honestly expected to make it to ten chapters, and now I’ve got to plan out the other 50 or so (I said this was slowburn, remember?), plus take a break for my mental health and focus on other aspects of my life. I’ll still be around editing and responding to comments, so feel free to ask questions or tell me where I made a typo. I’ll be back in probably three weeks, so mark your calendars for March 13th. That’s when Season 2 drops.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey you made it to the end. Have a cookie :)
> 
> If you could give this kudos or even leave a comment then that that would make my day because I love hearing from my readers and I’m always super excited to respond. New chapters should come out on Saturdays, and if they don't, I'll post an update with something to sate your thirst.


End file.
